Murphy Challenges to Define Creativity in Sports Coverage

Since the ECJ ruled in the Murphy case on 4 October, discussion has focused on what the ruling means for satellite broadcasters and consumers. On the one hand it seems to be a victory for consumers who can freely use decoders across border. On the other hand pub owners such as Karen Murphy are still not allowed to use these for showing matches in public. However, by stating that the sport itself is not copyrightable as a creative work, but that the packaging around the broadcast is for the purpose of ‘communication to the public’, the ruling challenges us to identify the intellectual creation in sports coverage.