UEFA Blocking Injunction extended

We reported  recently that Mr Justice Arnold had extended the Premier League blocking injunction requiring Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") to disable access to illegal streams of Premier League games. You can read that article here.

Mr Justice Arnold has now considered another footballing application: to extend his earlier injunction covering illegal streams of UEFA matches. He has not only extended the previous order, he has expanded it. While the list of actual servers targeted is confidential, it is expected that it is that list that has been grown so as to catch more infringers.

Arnold J has given a short judgment explaining his reasons for extending the order and reporting of the efficiency of the previous one. His judgment confirms that only one instance of overblocking had occurred. It is very impressive that the ISPs have been able to block access to hundreds of servers hosting thousands of streams correctly while only accidentally disabling one legal stream.

The basis for this type of injunction is two-fold. Firstly, UEFA sells the copyright in the football matches to select broadcasters who then have the right to show those fixtures in certain defined territories. Secondly, UEFA allows those broadcasters to display its registered trademarks during the games.

When it comes to blocking the pirates, therefore, UEFA can rely on infringement of both copyright and trademarks in pursuing them.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniel & Co. on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.