Following successful legal action taken by Sky, Sandra Dow, the tenant and Designated Premises Manager of the Spey Lounge in Edinburgh, Scotland, has been ordered to pay £10,000 in damages for infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky Sports programming illegally in her premises. She must also pay Sky’s costs and fund the placement of notices advertising the rulings in local and trade press.

Sky sought and was awarded a permanent interdict (injunction) in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, which prevents the licensees and anyone acting on their behalf from infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky programming without the correct commercial licence.

“This ruling demonstrates the seriousness of this issue and through the orders to fund advertising we hope to highlight the consequences of televising Sky’s content illegally,” noted George Lawson, head of commercial piracy at Sky. “We are committed to visiting thousands of pubs every season to monitor the games they are showing, as well as investigating suppliers to protect Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity.”

This successful case comes from Sky’s instruction to intellectual property experts from Scottish commercial law firm Burness Paull and form a key part of Sky’s commitment to protecting pubs who invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions. SPFL and Premier League matches are broadcast live exclusively on Sky Sports and BT Sport in Scotland. Sky Sports is only available to licensed premises in Scotland via a commercial agreement from Sky.