A PUB landlady has successfully overturned her conviction for using a foreign decoder to show football matches.
Karen Murphy had been found guilty of using a cheap Greek decoder to show games at her pub in Portsmouth, but appeal judges at the High Court yesterday ruled that her conviction should be quashed.
The move followed a ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which found partly in her favour on various issues of law surrounding the use of decoders.
However, a UK hearing on the wider legality of screening matches – in response to the ECJ ruling – has still to be heard. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) claimed that, despite yesterday's finding in favour of Mrs Murphy, there was still no reason for publicans to celebrate.
SLTA spokesman Paul Waterson said that copyright issues meant that it would still be difficult to show Sky TV footage using cheaper decoders.
He said: "Although there might be a positive outcome on this occasion, the practical issues of showing Sky footage is a difficult one because of the copyright issues surrounding the premier league logos which appear during matches.
"We're certainly not aware of any way round it, and even if there was, I think Sky would have something to say about it.
"I don't think this case will end well for publicans but we'll have to wait and see.
"Any footage which shows premier league logos can't be shown and will still be illegal."
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