Football Dataco Ltd & Ors v Smoot Enterprises Ltd & Anor (Rev 1)

Football Dataco Ltd & Ors v Smoot Enterprises Ltd & Anor (Rev 1)

The existence of a pending appeal and reference to the ECJ on the subsistence of database copyright in football fixture lists does not prevent the grant of default judgment where the claim is not obviously bad in law and the defendants have failed to acknowledge service or defend. The court is not required to resolve underlying legal uncertainties in default judgment applications.

Parties
Claimant: Football Dataco Limited; Claimant: The Football Association Premier League Limited; Claimant: The Football League Limited; Claimant: The Scottish Premier League Limited; Claimant: The Scottish Football League; Claimant: PA Sport UK Limited; Defendant: Smoot Enterprises Ltd; Defendant: Ransona Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
14 April 2011
Procedural Posture
Intellectual Property / Application for Default Judgment and Interim Payment
Outcome
Default judgment granted for claimants, including permanent injunction and damages to be assessed, with interim payment against first defendant.
Legal Topics
Copyright, Database Rights, Default Judgment, Injunctions
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Copyright Database Rights Default Judgment Injunctions

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 2 Authorities cited 7 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Football Dataco Limited

Claimant

The Football Association Premier League Limited

Claimant

The Football League Limited

Claimant

The Scottish Premier League Limited

Claimant

The Scottish Football League

Claimant

PA Sport UK Limited

Claimant

Smoot Enterprises Ltd

Defendant

Ransona Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Intellectual Property / Application for Default Judgment and Interim Payment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether default judgment can be granted where the underlying legal right is subject to unresolved appellate and ECJ reference
  2. 2 Whether pending appeals and references affect entitlement to default judgment

Ratio Decidendi

The existence of a pending appeal and reference to the ECJ on the subsistence of database copyright in football fixture lists does not prevent the grant of default judgment where the claim is not obviously bad in law and the defendants have failed to acknowledge service or defend. The court is not required to resolve underlying legal uncertainties in default judgment applications.

Court Disposition

Default judgment granted for claimants, including permanent injunction and damages to be assessed, with interim payment against first defendant.

Orders

  • Default judgment in favour of claimants against both defendants
  • Permanent injunction restraining infringement