Following on from a number of decisions in which internet service providers ("ISPs") were ordered to block their customers from accessing websites whose content infringed the rights of intellectual property owners, the High Court has granted an order sought by the Premier League that requires 6 major ISPs to block access by their customers to servers that stream live unauthorised footage of Premier League matches (The Football Association Premier League Limited V British Telecommunications and Ors. [2017] EWHC 480 (Ch)).
The decision is the latest in a series of cases which demonstrate that the Court recognises that advances in technology mean that there are now additional methods in which intellectual property rights may be infringed and it is willing to be creative and to grant orders to protect those rights.
The decision will be welcomed by owners and licensees of broadcasting rights in live sporting and other events and is likely to set a precedent for forms of order against providers of unauthorised streaming services in the future.
Click here to access the firm's full article on the decision.
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