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ARTICLE · 07 DECEMBER 2011

ECJ Judgment Will Lead To Rethink On Rights Distribution

Dundas & Wilson
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On 4 October, the ECJ issued its long-awaited preliminary ruling in the Karen Murphy case, on the restriction of broadcasting rights on a territorial basis.

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Peter Willis
Peter Willis

On 4 October, the ECJ issued its long-awaited preliminary ruling in the Karen Murphy case, on the restriction of broadcasting rights on a territorial basis. The judgment is likely to have a significant impact not only on the way in which the broadcasting rights for Premier League football matches are sold in Europe, but also on rights protection more widely.

The Premier League requires broadcasters licensed to transmit its programmes to undertake to prevent the public from receiving broadcasts outside the area for which they hold their respective licences. The Premier League brought a number of cases against both suppliers of foreign satellite decoder cards, and pub owners who used the foreign decoder cards to show broadcasts transmitted by licensees in other territories.

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