CHANCERY DIVISION
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
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Football Association Premier League Ltd NetMed Hellas SA Multichoice Hellas SA Union de Associations de Football British Sky Broadcasting Limited Setanta Sports SARL Group Canal Plus SA The Motion Picture Association |
Claimants |
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QC Leisure (a trading name) David Richardson -and- (1) AV Station plc (2) Malcolm Chamberlain -and- (1) Michael Madden (2) Sanjay Raval (3) David Greenslade (4) SR Leisure Ltd (5) Philip George Charles Houghton (6) Derek Owen -and- The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills |
Defendants Intervenor |
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(instructed by DLA Piper LLP) for the First, Second and Third Claimants
Mr James Flynn QC (instructed by Allery & Overy LLP) for
The Fifth Claimant
Mr Martin Howe QC, Mr Andrew Norris and Mr Thomas St Quintin
(instructed by Smithfield Partners) on behalf of Mr Richardson, QC Leisure, Mr Raval, Mr Greenslade and SR Leisure Ltd
and
(instructed by Molesworths Bright Clegg) on behalf of the other Defendants
Ms Sarah Lee and Mr Simon Malynicz (instructed by The Treasury Solicitor)
for the Intervenor
Hearing dates: 15/16 December 2011
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Crown Copyright ©
Lord Justice Kitchin:
Introduction
i) Whether any of the defendants have communicated any of the copyright works of the Football Association Premier League Ltd ("FAPL") to the public contrary to s.20 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended, ("the CDPA"). And, if they have, whether s.72 of the CDPA provides them with a defence.ii) Whether the defendants QC Leisure ("QC") and AV Station plc ("AV") have infringed FAPL's copyrights by authorising the infringing acts of their customers, including the defendants in the third action (the "Madden defendants").
iii) Which works were screened or played by the Madden defendants?
iv) Whether it is appropriate to grant a declaration that the defendants have infringed FAPL's copyrights and, if so, the form that any such declaration should take.
v) Whether it is appropriate to grant an injunction to restrain further infringement of FAPL's copyrights and, if so, the form any such injunction should take.
vi) Whether it is appropriate to grant a declaration reflecting the ruling of the Court of Justice on Article 81 EC (now Article 101 TFEU) by way of a declaration and, if so, the form any such declaration should take.
vii) Whether I should make an order dismissing the causes of action which have failed.
viii) Whether it is appropriate to order an inquiry or an account and, if so, the appropriate consequential directions to make.
Infringement – communication to the public
"262. I come then to consider how these principles should be applied in the context of the present case. Have the publicans communicated the copyright works to members of the public not present at the origin of those communications? They have plainly displayed them and played them to members of the public (subject to the discussion in the next section). The audience is far wider than the publicans and their families. But it is my provisional view they have not communicated them to the public within the meaning of Article 3. There has been no retransmission by the publicans whether by wire or otherwise. They have simply received the signal, decoded it and displayed it on a television. The only acts of communication to the public have been those of the FAPL, NOVA and ART. In short, there has been no act of communication to the public within the Directive separate from the satellite broadcast itself."
"191. As regards, first, the concept of communication, it is apparent from Article 8(3) of the Related Rights Directive and Articles 2(g) and 15 of the Performance and Phonograms Treaty that such a concept includes "making the sounds or representations of sounds fixed in a phonogram audible to the public" and that it encompasses broadcasting or "any communication to the public".
192. More specifically, as Article 11bis(1)(iii) of the Berne Convention expressly indicates, that concept encompasses communication by loudspeaker or any other instrument transmitting, by signs, sounds or images, covering—in accordance with the explanatory memorandum accompanying the proposal for a copyright directive (COM(97) 628 final)—a means of communication such as display of the works on a screen.
193. That being so, and since the European Union legislature has not expressed a different intention as regards the interpretation of that concept in the Copyright Directive , in particular in Article 3 thereof (see paragraph [188] of the present judgment), the concept of communication must be construed broadly, as referring to any transmission of the protected works, irrespective of the technical means or process used."
"195. In Case C-403/08, the proprietor of a public house intentionally gives the customers present in that establishment access to a broadcast containing protected works via a television screen and speakers. Without his intervention the customers cannot enjoy the works broadcast, even though they are physically within the broadcast's catchment area. Thus, the circumstances of such an act prove comparable to those in SGAE.
196. Accordingly, it must be held that the proprietor of a public house effects a communication when he intentionally transmits broadcast works, via a television screen and speakers, to the customers present in that establishment."
"199. That is so when the works broadcast are transmitted by the proprietor of a public house to the customers present in that establishment, because those customers constitute an additional public which was not considered by the authors when they authorised the broadcasting of their works."
"203. Such an element of direct physical contact is specifically absent in the case of transmission, in a place such as a public house, of a broadcast work via a television screen and speakers to the public which is present at the place of that transmission, but which is not present at the place where the communication originates within the meaning of recital 23 in the preamble to the Copyright Directive, that is to say, at the place of the representation or performance which is broadcast (see, to this effect SGAE paragraph [40])."
"205. In a situation such as that in the main proceedings, it is indisputable that the proprietor transmits the broadcast works in his public house in order to benefit therefrom and that that transmission is liable to attract customers to whom the works transmitted are of interest. Consequently, the transmission in question has an effect upon the number of people going to that establishment and, ultimately, on its financial results.
206. It follows that the communication to the public in question is of a profit-making nature."
"207. In light of all the foregoing, the answer to the question referred is that "communication to the public" within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the Copyright Directive must be interpreted as covering transmission of the broadcast works, via a television screen and speakers, to the customers present in a public house."
i) the Court of Justice has interpreted Article 3(1) of the Copyright Directive not s.20 of the CDPA;ii) a directive does not have direct "horizontal" effect, in that it cannot create legal rights in favour of one citizen which bind another citizen;
iii) national courts are obliged under the Marleasing doctrine to seek to interpret provisions of national law if possible in conformity with relevant directives;
iv) however, the limits of what is possible as a matter of interpretation of a statute is a matter of domestic law, not of EU law;
v) it is not possible to interpret the phrase "communication to the public by electronic transmission" in s.20 CDPA as substituted by regulation 6(1) of the 2003 Regulations, as extending to the act of receiving a broadcast by electronic means and then showing it on a TV screen in public;
vi) it is not possible to interpret away the provisions of s.72 CDPA, which unequivocally state that when the public have not paid for admission, the act of showing in public a broadcast "does not infringe any copyright in any film included in it".
"82. Normally when construing domestic legislation, the English courts must find the meaning of the words which Parliament has used. In the context, however, of legislation which requires to be construed in a way which is compatible with European Union law or with the rights conferred by the European Convention on Human Rights, the English courts can adopt a construction which is not the natural one. The process, however, remains one of interpretation: the obligation imposed by the Court of Justice is only to interpret national law in conformity with a directive "so far as possible". That raises the question when a process ceases to be that of legitimate interpretation and trespasses into the field of lawmaking that is the task of Parliament and not the courts."
"89. The critical point made by the House of Lords in the Ghaidan case can be found in the passage from the speech of Lord Nicholls which I have set out above. Lord Nicholls accepts that the effect of interpretation in accordance with section 3 of the 1998 Act may be to change the meaning of the legislation but, as he explains, the meaning adopted by the court must not conflict with a fundamental feature of the legislation. He adopts the words of Lord Rodger that the interpretation chosen by the court must "go with the grain of the legislation". Lord Nicholls, Lord Steyn and Lord Rodger all accepted that there would be occasions when the courts could not adopt an interpretation that would make the legislation compatible with Convention rights because that would involve making policy choices which the court was not equipped to make (see [33] to [35] per Lord Nicholls, [49] per Lord Steyn and [115] per Lord Rodger). It is also clear from the Ghaidan case that the interpretation of legislation under section 3 or the Marleasing principle may involve a substantial departure from the language used though it will not involve a departure from the fundamental or cardinal features of the legislation. It is possible to read the legislation up (expansively) or down (restrictively) or to read words into the legislation. The question of whether section 3 can be applied does not depend on whether it is possible to solve the problem by a simple linguistic device."
"37. We were referred in the parties' respective written arguments and orally to a number of reported cases on the principles to be observed in looking for a conforming interpretation in either the European Community or Human Rights contexts. In chronological order they are Pickstone v Freemans [1989] AC 66; Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA [1990] ECR I-4135 ; Litster v Forth Dry Dock [1990] AC 546 ; ICI v Colmer [1999] 1 WLR 2035 ; Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza [2004] 2 AC 557 ; HMRC v IDT Card Services Ireland Ltd [2006] STC 1252 ; HMRC v EB Central Services Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 486 and Fleming/Conde Nast v HMRC [2008] 1 WLR 195. The principles which those cases established or illustrated were helpfully summarised by counsel for HMRC in terms from which counsel for V2 did not dissent. Such principles are that:
"In summary, the obligation on the English courts to construe domestic legislation consistently with Community law obligations is both broad and far-reaching. In particular:
(a) It is not constrained by conventional rules of construction (Per Lord Oliver in Pickstone at 126B);
(b) It does not require ambiguity in the legislative language (Per Lord Oliver in Pickstone at 126B; Lord Nicholls in Ghaidan at 32);
(c) It is not an exercise in semantics or linguistics (See Ghaidan per Lord Nicholls at 31 and 35; Lord Steyn at 48-49; Lord Rodger at 110-115);
(d) It permits departure from the strict and literal application of the words which the legislature has elected to use (Per Lord Oliver in Litster at 577A; Lord Nicholls in Ghaidan at 31);
(e) It permits the implication of words necessary to comply with Community law obligations (Per Lord Templeman in Pickstone at 120H-121A; Lord Oliver in Litster at 577A); and
(f) The precise form of the words to be implied does not matter (Per Lord Keith in Pickstone at 112D; Lord Rodger in Ghaidan at para 122; Arden LJ in IDT Card Services at 114)."
38. Counsel for HMRC went on to point out, again without dissent from counsel for V2, that:
"The only constraints on the broad and far-reaching nature of the interpretative obligation are that:
(a) The meaning should "go with the grain of the legislation" and be "compatible with the underlying thrust of the legislation being construed." (Per Lord Nicholls in Ghaidan at 33; Dyson LJ in EB Central Services at 81) An interpretation should not be adopted which is inconsistent with a fundamental or cardinal feature of the legislation since this would cross the boundary between interpretation and amendment; (See Ghaidan per Lord Nicholls at 33; Lord Rodger at 110-113; Arden LJ in IDT Card Services at 82 and 113) and
(b) The exercise of the interpretative obligation cannot require the courts to make decisions for which they are not equipped or give rise to important practical repercussions which the court is not equipped to evaluate. (See Ghaidan per Lord Nicholls at 33; Lord Rodger at 115; Arden L in IDT Card Services at 113.)"
"55. The third objection summarised in paragraph 41 above is to the effect that the suggested conforming interpretation would be retrospective in operation, would involve legal or economic policy decisions and would fail to satisfy the test of legal certainty. Counsel for V2 points out that a conforming interpretation necessarily applies retrospectively and in the tax field has to be applied by Inspectors of Taxes and taxpayers up and down the country. As such it must be sufficiently certain both from a practical and legal point of view. Counsel for V2 contends that the conforming interpretation advanced by counsel for HMRC is not only insufficiently certain but has involved a decision on legal, economic and policy grounds which should be left to Parliament.
56. There are a number of points wrapped up in that submission. I will take them in turn. First, it is inevitable that a conforming interpretation will be retrospective in its operation. Unless and until it is averred that the legislation is inconsistent with some enforceable Community right there is no occasion to consider a conforming interpretation. The fact that the effect of such an interpretation is felt retrospectively is no more an objection in the field of conforming interpretation than it is in the case of domestic statutory construction.
57. Second, it is not a requirement of a conforming interpretation that it should be capable of precise formulation. That is precisely the point summarised in sub-paragraph (f) in paragraph 37 above. The dicta there referred to were made in such widely diverse situations as equal pay, right to succession of a protected tenancy and the imposition of a liability to VAT. It is inevitable that the conforming interpretation will lack the crispness to be expected of properly considered legislation; but, that cannot be a sufficient objection.
58. Third, the conforming interpretation advanced by counsel for HMRC reflects and excepts from the operation of the CFC Legislation precisely that element of it which the ECJ held to constitute the hindrance to freedom of establishment. That is, by definition, sufficiently certain for a conforming interpretation whether or not the exclusion from the exception of wholly artificial transactions is included. There can be no objection to such an exclusion for the like reason. It follows precisely the formulation of the justification for the hindrance which the ECJ found to be acceptable.
59. It is the case that there are likely to be other ways of achieving conformity, for example s.751A inserted into the CFC Legislation by the Finance Act 2007, and the choice of one rather than another may well involve policy decisions. But if that consideration alone could render a conforming interpretation illegitimate it would considerably restrict the occasions in which a conforming interpretation could be adopted and lead to an increase in disapplications. The choice of a conforming interpretation which faithfully follows a conclusion of the ECJ, as in this case, does not in my view trespass on the forbidden ground of legislation."
"19 Infringement by performance, showing or playing of work in public
(1) The performance of the work in public is an act restricted by the copyright in a literary, dramatic or musical work.
(2) In this Part "performance", in relation to a work –
(a) includes delivery in the case of lectures, addresses, speeches and sermons, and
(b) in general, includes any mode of visual or acoustic presentation, including presentation by means of a sound recording, film or broadcast of the work.
(3) The playing or showing of the work in public is an act restricted by the copyright in a sound recording, film or broadcast.
(4) Where copyright in a work is infringed by its being performed, played or shown in public by means of apparatus for receiving visual images or sounds conveyed by electronic means, the person by whom the visual images or sounds are sent, and in the case of a performance the performers, shall not be regarded as responsible for the infringement."
"Member States should be able to provide for more far-reaching protection for owners of rights related to copyright than that required by the provisions laid down in this Directive in respect of broadcasting and communication to the public"
"Article 8
Broadcasting and communication to the public
…
3. Member States shall provide for broadcasting organisations the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit the rebroadcasting of their broadcasts by wireless means, as well as the communication to the public of their broadcasts if such communication is made in places accessible to the public against payment of an entrance fee."
"Article 12
Relation between copyright and related rights
Protection of copyright-related rights under this Directive shall leave intact and shall in no way affect the protection of copyright"
"72 Free public showing or playing of broadcast
(1) The showing or playing in public of a broadcast to an audience who have not paid for admission to the place where the broadcast is to be seen or heard does not infringe any copyright in -
(a) the broadcast;
(b) any sound recording (except so far as it is an excepted sound recording) included in it; or
(c) any film included in it."
"10.15 The public performance exceptions under sections 40(1) and 40(2) of the 1956 Act allow sound recordings and cinematographic films included in BBC and IBA sound and television broadcasts to be seen or heard in public, for example in a pub or hospital, without the consent of the owners of the copyright in those recordings or films. It would be anomalous if makers of sound recordings and films acquired a right to prevent unlicensed public display of a television set showing an FSS programme containing their material, while under the above provisions (which the Government intends to retain) they have no right to prevent display of a television set showing a BBC or IBA broadcast of their material. Accordingly, the Government proposes to extend the above exemptions to cover transmissions by broadcasters other than the BBC or IBA."
"The Berne Convention requires us to give composers a right in respect of the public performance of broadcasts of recordings containing their work but convention requirements do not oblige us to extend this to makers of sound recordings provided they receive "equitable remuneration" in respect of the broadcast itself. Nor, in our view, does the convention require a right to be given to film-makers in respect of public showings of broadcasts containing their works. That can be justified as a minor reservation recognised by the parties to the Berne Convention as a legitimate departure from its literal wording.
We have always taken the view, unwelcome though it may be to the record industry, that it is not reasonable to impose a requirement for multiple copyright licences on shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes and the like, where a radio or TV set is played or shown. The public exposure of films and sound recordings in that way is a relatively minor form of exploitation.
The owners of the rights concerned are not going unremunerated since they have a right to control whether or not their works are broadcast in the first place. The burden on the retail sector, both administrative and financial, of having to obtain additional copyright licences would be considerable, linked as it would be to something that was only secondary to their main activity."
"Article 3
Right of communication to the public of works and right of making available to the public other subject-matter
1. Member States shall provide authors with the exclusive right to authorise or prohibit any communication to the public of their works, by wire or wireless means, including the making available to the public of their works in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them."
"Article 5
Exceptions and limitations
….
3. Member States may provide for exceptions or limitations to the rights provided for in Articles 2 and 3 in the following cases:
….
(o) use in certain other cases of minor importance where exceptions or limitations already exist under national law, provided that they only concern analogue uses and do not affect the free circulation of goods and services within the Community, without prejudice to the other exceptions and limitations contained in this Article.
….
5. The exceptions and limitations provided for in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 shall only be applied in special cases which do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work or other subject matter and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the rightholder."
"These Regulations implement Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22nd May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society (O.J. No L167, 22.6.2001, p.10) ("the Directive") which provides for a general and flexible legal framework at Community level in order to foster the development of the information society in the European Community. In particular, the Directive harmonises the basic rights relevant to use of copyright material in the information society and e-commerce, namely the rights of reproduction (copying) and communication to the public (electronic transmission, including digital broadcasting and "on-demand" services.)"
"20 Infringement by communication to the public
(1) The communication to the public of the work is an act restricted by the copyright in -
(a) a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work,
(b) a sound recording or film, or
(c) a broadcast.
(2) References in this Part to communication to the public are to communication to the public by electronic transmission, and in relation to a work include –
(a) the broadcasting of the work;
(b) the making available to the public of the work by electronic transmission in such a way that members of the public may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them."
Authorisation
"379. In my judgment decoder cards are quite different to the twin-tape recorders the subject of the Amstrad decision. Those recorders might or might not be used to perform the allegedly infringing activities and there was nothing inherent in the sale which suggested that Amstrad had the authority to allow those activities to be carried out. By contrast, a decoder card is the key which allows the viewer to watch encrypted programming. It has one purpose only, which is to permit him access to what he would otherwise be denied. In this sense it is an authorisation in physical form. Absent a statement or some other indication to the contrary, the supply of decoder cards to customers therefore constitutes authorisation to use the decoder cards for the purpose for which they were supplied. In the case of publicans, they were supplied to allow customers to watch the television programming in the pubs. I therefore conclude that QC and AV have authorised any infringing acts of the Madden defendants and other members of the public to whom they have supplied the NOVA and ART cards."
The works screened or played by the Madden defendants
i) Mr Madden screened two matches, both ART studio matches;ii) Mr Raval and SR Leisure screened two matches, one an ART studio match and the other an ART non-studio match;
iii) Mr Houghton screened two matches, one an ART studio match and the other an ART non-studio match;
iv) Mr Owen screened two ART studio matches.
Copyright declaration
Injunction
Article 81 declaration
Order dismissing causes of action which have failed
Order for an inquiry or account