Premier League: an English pub convicted for retransmitting matches via a foreign satellite

The High Court of England and Wales sentenced the owner of a pub in Liverpool to pay £65,000 (€79,000) to the Barclays Premier League over copyright infringement on 13/03/2014. Tony Berry, owner of the "First National Wine Bar," screened matches of the English Premier League in his pub, via the beIN Sports channel, which holds the broadcast rights to the Premier League in the Middle East and North Africa (2013 -2016) using of a foreign satellite.

"They didn’t like me showing the football because they’re not getting anything directly from it. I deal with legitimate suppliers. I think they’re pursuing me because I’m a sole trader. I’m one person with no money, and they want to make an example," said Tony Berry to the Liverpool Echo on 14/03/2014.

Several associations of pub managers have criticised the Premier League and its exclusive domestic broadcasters (BT Sport and Sky Sports) for pursuing traders, rather than distributors of foreign satellites. "Publicans should beware of suppliers that mislead and attempt to rip people off with false claims that such systems are legal. If pubs…