ECJ Limits Scope of Database Protection: Betting Organisations can use Sport Listings

Mondaq Business Briefing, November, 2004

On 9 November the European Court of Justice ('ECJ') delivered its long awaited judgments in The British Horseracing Board and Others v William Hill Organization Ltd (Case C-203/02), Fixtures Marketing Ltd v Oy Veikkaus AB (Case C-46/02), Fixtures Marketing Ltd v Organismos Prognostikon Agonon Podosfairou AE (Case C-444/02) and Fixtures Marketing Ltd v Svenska Spel AB (Case C-338/02).

All four cases concerned the European Directive on the Legal Protection of Databases 96/9/EC (the 'Directive'), and specifically, the extent to which sporting databases are protected under it.

Facts

The British Horseracing Board ('BHB') v William Hill Organization Ltd ('William Hill')

BHB, the governing authority for the British horse racing industry,...