A PUB has been ordered to pay more than £40,000 costs for showing an illegal feed of Sky Sports.

Glen Binger, the licensee of The Bay Horse, Town Street, Farsley, Pudsey, was ordered to pay a total of £41,126.64 in damages, costs and interest for infringing Sky Television’s copyright by showing Sky Sports in its bar without having a valid commercial agreement in place.

It is unknown how long the pub was illegally screening the Sky Sports feed.

Sky Sports is only available to licensed premises in the UK through a commercial viewing agreement directly from Sky Business.

Licensees which show Sky broadcasts without a commercial viewing agreement are at risk of similar action or even criminal prosecution.

The decision was made by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) on November 18.

IPEC, previously the Patents County Court or PCC, in London is an alternative venue to the High Court for bringing legal actions involving intellectual property matters such as patents, registered designs, trade marks, unregistered design rights and copyright.

Sky says it will visit hundreds of pubs across the UK each week in towns and cities across the UK during the current football season.

George Lawson, head of commercial piracy at Sky, said The Bay Horse was a clear example of the action the company would be prepared to take.

He added: “Showing sports illegally creates an uneven playing field for thousands of hardworking licensees who legitimately invest in Sky Sports, which is why we are committed to protecting legitimate customers from those that threaten their businesses.

“This action clearly demonstrates that venues which choose to show Sky Sports without a valid agreement commit copyright infringement and will face legal action - and possibly hefty financial consequences as a result of their actions.”

The case against The Bay Horse forms part of Sky’s project to protect pubs who invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions. Sky is committed to visiting every licensed premises reported by other publicans and/or organisations for illegally showing.

Mr Binger could not be contacted by the Telegraph & Argus yesterday for comment.

Sky Business offers the firm’s television services to businesses including pubs, sports clubs, bookmakers, offices and oil rigs.

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