Premier League hails latest victory in piracy battle

Football’s English Premier League has claimed the latest win in its ongoing battle against piracy of its broadcasts with three suppliers of pre-loaded Internet Protocol TV boxes ordered to pay a total of £267,000 (€310,000/$332,000) by the courts for infringing copyright.

The three sellers of pre-loaded IPTV boxes ordered to pay costs are Liverpool-based Football for Pubs, Royston-based Pub Entertainment Systems and Neosat.

Football for Pubs and Pub Entertainment Systems have been ordered by the High Court to cease the sale of the illegal devices and pay costs of £90,000 and £77,000, respectively. Neosat was ordered to cease the sale of the illegal devices and pay costs totalling £100,000.

The latest actions are part of a wide-ranging and sustained Premier League campaign to protect its copyright and the investment in its rights from UK pay-television broadcasters Sky and BT Sport.

The High Court injunctions and orders to pay costs for the three suppliers follow a case in December that saw a seller of similar devices jailed for four years. The Premier League also supported UK intellectual property protection body Fact in its recent raids of several IPTV box suppliers across the north-west of England that led to five people being arrested.

Pubs from Liverpool, London and Croydon are also among 10 that have paid a total of £93,000 in costs for infringing copyright with unauthorised broadcasts of Premier League football.

A Premier League spokesman said: “Like other sports and creative industries our model is predicated on the ability to market and sell rights and protect our intellectual property. It is because of this that clubs can invest in and develop talented players, build world class stadiums, and support young people in schools and communities across the country – all things that fans enjoy and wider society benefits from.

“These injunctions and costs orders, and the recent supplier of IPTV boxes sent to jail for four years, provide further evidence to consumers and the pub trade that the sale of these devices is illegal.”