News | EU & Competition
William Hill Victory at the Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal agreed to refer to the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") a number of questions relating to database rights and, in a decision that appeared to surprise the racing industry, the ECJ ruled in November 2004 that the BHB had no database right in the pre-race data. At a subsequent Court of Appeal hearing on 28 June 2005, the BHB argued that the ECJ had exceeded its jurisdiction in seeking to apply the law to the facts of the case and that furthermore, the ECJ had misunderstood the way in which the BHB compiles the pre-race data.
The Court of Appeal has rejected these arguments, holding that the ECJ did not exceed its jurisdiction and was aware of the full facts. It has therefore upheld William Hill's appeal and it has also refused the BHB leave to appeal its decision to the House of Lords. Stephen Kon said, "We are delighted to have secured this victory for William Hill. It was a case in which we always thought the ECJ would be sympathetic to the position adopted by William Hill and this proved to be correct."
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Thursday 14th July 2005
SJ Berwin has helped secure a significant victory for William Hill at the Court of Appeal in a decision that has important ramifications for the way in which UK horseracing is funded and potentially wide implications for other sports and industries seeking to assert database rights over fixture lists. William Hill instructed SJ Berwin, led by partner Stephen Kon, assisted by Sarah Turnbull and Matt Evans, to help it overturn a High Court decision that William Hill infringed database rights held by the British Horseracing Board ("BHB") by publishing on its website data on the runners and riders in British horse races ("pre-race data").The Court of Appeal agreed to refer to the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") a number of questions relating to database rights and, in a decision that appeared to surprise the racing industry, the ECJ ruled in November 2004 that the BHB had no database right in the pre-race data. At a subsequent Court of Appeal hearing on 28 June 2005, the BHB argued that the ECJ had exceeded its jurisdiction in seeking to apply the law to the facts of the case and that furthermore, the ECJ had misunderstood the way in which the BHB compiles the pre-race data.
The Court of Appeal has rejected these arguments, holding that the ECJ did not exceed its jurisdiction and was aware of the full facts. It has therefore upheld William Hill's appeal and it has also refused the BHB leave to appeal its decision to the House of Lords. Stephen Kon said, "We are delighted to have secured this victory for William Hill. It was a case in which we always thought the ECJ would be sympathetic to the position adopted by William Hill and this proved to be correct."
Notes:
- On 1 June 2005 SJ Berwin LLP, an English limited liability partnership, took over the business of the SJ Berwin general partnership. www.sjberwin.com. SJ Berwin LLP or an affiliated undertaking has an office in Berlin, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Munich and Paris.
- SJ Berwin LLP 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 LLP 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 LLP 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.
- For further information on the firm, please visit our website at www.sjberwin.com
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