In a surprising recent decision, an Israeli district court judge has ruled that copyright does not vest in live sports footage. The decision represents a departure from prior Israeli law on this issue.
The case concerned the unlicensed broadcast of live football footage. LiveFooty, a website operated by an anonymous entity, made available on its site football game footage which had been filmed on behalf of the Football Association Premier League Ltd (Premier League), a leading UK football league owned by its member football clubs. As evidenced by a notice posted on LiveFooty, the site was created with the express intention of enabling viewers to access live sporting event coverage free of charge. When the anonymous operator of LiveFooty refused Premier League's email request to cease further broadcast of Premiere League games, Premier League sued LiveFooty for copyright infringement in the Tel Aviv District Court.
Citing the lack of originality in live sports footage, the District Court's decision stated unequivocally that copyright does not vest in live sports footage. In addition, the Court's decision drew heavily on policy arguments, including the premise that increasingly intellectual property laws are not being used to support creativity, but are being misused by large entities to expand market power, reduce competition and concentrate control over the production and distribution of information. The District Court also noted the issues raised by restricting access to footage of events in which the public has a high degree of interest.
It should be noted that the District Court's decision represents a shift from the view espoused in the past by the Israeli Supreme Court, which has expressly ruled that copyright does vest in live sports footage. The adoption by Israel of a new copyright statute in May 2008 enables the District Court to create new law on this issue.
Due to the public interest issues implicated in the case as well as the impact the case would have on the sports industry, the District Court has delayed issuing a formal decision to enable Israel's attorney general to express his views. The case is being closely watched by the sporting industry in Israel.
 |
| Yoheved Novogroder-Shoshan |
Yigal Arnon & Co
22 Rivlin Street
Jerusalem 91000
Israel
Tel: +972 2 623 9200
Fax: +972 2 623 9236
barry@arnon.co.il
www.arnon.co.il
