SKY UK LIMITED AGAINST ALEX CHERRIE [2021] ScotCS CSOH_36 (06 April 2021)

SKY UK LIMITED AGAINST ALEX CHERRIE [2021] ScotCS CSOH_36 (06 April 2021)

The defender's copying and communication of Sky's broadcast content via Reddit and YouTube, including posting hyperlinks to Google Drive copies, constitutes copyright infringement under sections 17 and 20 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Communication of Sky Arts Channel programmes, though free to air, was to a 'new public' as users circumvented account and terms restrictions. The balance of convenience strongly favours granting interim interdict due to the scale, persistence, and financial motivation of infringement, and ineffectiveness of non-litigious remedies.

Citation
[2021] ScotCS CSOH_36
Parties
Pursuer: Sky UK Limited; Defender: Alex Cherrie
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
06 April 2021
Procedural Posture
Intellectual Property Interim Interdict / Interim Interdict Application
Outcome
interim interdict granted
Legal Topics
Copyright Infringement, Communication to the Public, Online Platforms, Hyperlinking, Interim Interdict
Intellectual Property Copyright Copyright Infringement Communication to the Public Online Platforms Hyperlinking Interim Interdict

Case Brief

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Parties

Sky UK Limited

Pursuer

Alex Cherrie

Defender

Procedural Posture

Intellectual Property Interim Interdict / Interim Interdict Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defender's activities on Reddit and YouTube constitute copyright infringement under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
  2. 2 Whether posting hyperlinks to protected works constitutes 'communication to the public'
  3. 3 Whether communication of Sky Arts Channel programmes constitutes communication to a 'new public'

Ratio Decidendi

The defender's copying and communication of Sky's broadcast content via Reddit and YouTube, including posting hyperlinks to Google Drive copies, constitutes copyright infringement under sections 17 and 20 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Communication of Sky Arts Channel programmes, though free to air, was to a 'new public' as users circumvented account and terms restrictions. The balance of convenience strongly favours granting interim interdict due to the scale, persistence, and financial motivation of infringement, and ineffectiveness of non-litigious remedies.

Court Disposition

interim interdict granted

Orders

  • Interdict against the defender from infringing the pursuer's copyright in broadcast television programmes on any Sky Channels by copying or communicating broadcasts to the public, including uploading to YouTube, posting hyperlinks on Reddit, uploading or hyperlinking online in any way, or causing others to do so.