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SJ Berwin Wins Landmark Case on Database Rights for William Hill before The European Court of Justice
This is the first case before the ECJ to consider the interpretation of the European Database Directive which provides legal protection to databases in the EU. The case relates in particular to the scope of database protection in the context of a sporting (horseracing) database. This case was heard in parallel with cases from the Swedish, Finnish and Greek courts relating to football databases (the Fixtures Marketing cases).
Overturning the Advocate General's opinion, the ECJ today interpreted the database in line with the arguments of William Hill and several EU Member States and rejected the arguments of the BHB and the European Commission. This also overturns the judgment of Laddie J in the English High Court who had given judgment in favour of an extensive interpretation of the right as argued by the BHB.
The BHB is the governing authority for British horseracing and compiles a database with detailed information on horseracing and horses. The BHB provides racing information from its database to the press, the racing industry and bookmakers. William Hill used a very small amount of information (the names of horses and times of races) from the BHB database on its website for internet betting for which the BHB demanded the payment of a database licence fee. The ECJ found that this limited use of horseracing data by William Hill on its website for internet betting did not amount to an infringement of the BHB's database rights. The ECJ held that this information which was taken indirectly from the BHB's horseracing database was not a substantial part of the BHB's database and nor did William Hill's repeated use of insubstantial parts of the BHB's database seriously prejudice the investment made by the BHB in its database. The ECJ found more generally in relation to both the BHB and the Football fixtures cases that the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of a football fixture list or a schedule of horse races did not constitute substantial investment giving rise to protection against the use of the data by third parties. Rather, the database right protects the database maker's work in seeking, collecting, verifying and presenting existing materials and not the resources used to create those materials making up the database.
This is a landmark case representing the first interpretation by the ECJ of the new database directive. It is also significant by overruling the Advocate General's opinion, the arguments of the European Commission and the English High Court. Several cases Community wide in relation to databases both in relation to sports and in other industries are thought to have been stayed pending this judgment.
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Wednesday 10th November 2004
Partners Stephen Kon and Tom Usher (now at Dundas & Wilson) and senior assistant Sarah Turnbull of the EU & Competition Department of SJ Berwin represented William Hill before the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") in the preliminary reference Case C302/2000 British Horseracing Board and others v William Hill Organization Limited. Mark Platts-Mills QC and James Abrahams of 8 New Square were instructed as counsel for William Hill in the case.This is the first case before the ECJ to consider the interpretation of the European Database Directive which provides legal protection to databases in the EU. The case relates in particular to the scope of database protection in the context of a sporting (horseracing) database. This case was heard in parallel with cases from the Swedish, Finnish and Greek courts relating to football databases (the Fixtures Marketing cases).
Overturning the Advocate General's opinion, the ECJ today interpreted the database in line with the arguments of William Hill and several EU Member States and rejected the arguments of the BHB and the European Commission. This also overturns the judgment of Laddie J in the English High Court who had given judgment in favour of an extensive interpretation of the right as argued by the BHB.
The BHB is the governing authority for British horseracing and compiles a database with detailed information on horseracing and horses. The BHB provides racing information from its database to the press, the racing industry and bookmakers. William Hill used a very small amount of information (the names of horses and times of races) from the BHB database on its website for internet betting for which the BHB demanded the payment of a database licence fee. The ECJ found that this limited use of horseracing data by William Hill on its website for internet betting did not amount to an infringement of the BHB's database rights. The ECJ held that this information which was taken indirectly from the BHB's horseracing database was not a substantial part of the BHB's database and nor did William Hill's repeated use of insubstantial parts of the BHB's database seriously prejudice the investment made by the BHB in its database. The ECJ found more generally in relation to both the BHB and the Football fixtures cases that the obtaining, verification or presentation of the contents of a football fixture list or a schedule of horse races did not constitute substantial investment giving rise to protection against the use of the data by third parties. Rather, the database right protects the database maker's work in seeking, collecting, verifying and presenting existing materials and not the resources used to create those materials making up the database.
This is a landmark case representing the first interpretation by the ECJ of the new database directive. It is also significant by overruling the Advocate General's opinion, the arguments of the European Commission and the English High Court. Several cases Community wide in relation to databases both in relation to sports and in other industries are thought to have been stayed pending this judgment.
Notes:
- SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 450 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
- The EU & Competition Department of European law firm, SJ Berwin is one of the leading UK and EU competition practices in Europe with strong working relationships with the European Commission and in the UK with the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") and the Competition Commission. It has been a core practice area of the firm since its establishment in 1982.
- The EU & Competition department of SJ Berwin advises on mergers, and JVs; state aid, cartel and monopoly enquiries; UK/EC complaints and litigation; notifications to competition authorities; regulatory work; IP and competition interface issues; advisory and compliance work; trade and customs; lobbying and Arbitrage.
- Clients include: Associated British Foods, AES, AKZO Nobel, Alcan, Apax Partners, Blockbuster, British Land, Carlton TV, Channel 4, Coca Cola Enterprises, CSFB, Diageo, Dixons, Gullane, Guardian IT, Hilton Group, JVC, Mediaset, Metronet, Mmo2, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, M&S, Pearson TV, Proctor & Gamble; Reckitt Benckiser, RBS/Natwest, Swedish Match, UCI/UGC Cinemas, Universal Pictures and William Hill.
- The department consistently features amongst the leaders in this field of expertise in major legal directories - Legal 500 ranks the department in the top tier in the UK. It is also acknowledged as an expert in Germany, Brussels and Spain and is only one of two Law firms ever to have been twice named 'Competition Team of the Year' by Legal Business magazine.
- The team comprises 12 partners and over 25 other lawyers in London, Brussels, Munich, Madrid and Paris, with London and Brussels operating symbiotically. This pan-European team is headed up by Stephen Kon, who has over twenty years experience, specialising in advising on all aspects of EU law (particularly EU and UK Competition law) and appears regularly before the European Commission.
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