The Football Association Premier League Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd & Ors

The Football Association Premier League Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd & Ors

FirstRow communicates FAPL's copyright works to the public in the UK by electronic transmission, infringing FAPL's copyrights. The Defendants are service providers whose services are used for this infringement and have actual knowledge. The blocking orders sought are proportionate and justified.

Parties
Claimant: The Football Association Premier League Limited; Defendant: British Sky Broadcasting Limited; Defendant: British Telecommunications PLC; Defendant: Everything Everywhere Limited; Defendant: TalkTalk Telecom Limited; Defendant: Telefónica UK Limited; Defendant: Virgin Media Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 July 2013
Procedural Posture
Application for Injunction / Judgment
Outcome
injunction granted
Legal Topics
Copyright Infringement, Website Blocking Orders, Communication to the Public, Service Provider Liability, Proportionality of Injunctions
Intellectual Property Copyright Law Information Technology Law Copyright Infringement Website Blocking Orders Communication to the Public Service Provider Liability Proportionality of Injunctions

Case Brief

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Parties

The Football Association Premier League Limited

Claimant

British Sky Broadcasting Limited

Defendant

British Telecommunications PLC

Defendant

Everything Everywhere Limited

Defendant

TalkTalk Telecom Limited

Defendant

Telefónica UK Limited

Defendant

Virgin Media Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Application for Injunction / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether operators and users of FirstRow infringe FAPL's copyrights by communication to the public
  2. 2 Whether the Defendants are service providers under section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
  3. 3 Whether the Defendants have actual knowledge of copyright infringement

Ratio Decidendi

FirstRow communicates FAPL's copyright works to the public in the UK by electronic transmission, infringing FAPL's copyrights. The Defendants are service providers whose services are used for this infringement and have actual knowledge. The blocking orders sought are proportionate and justified.

Court Disposition

injunction granted

Orders

  • Defendants are ordered to block or impede access to FirstRow Sports website by their customers.
  • Orders include IP address blocking, IP address re-routing, and URL blocking for relevant domain names and URLs.