Karen Murphy, the landlady of a pub in Southsea, has won the latest stage of her battle against the Premier League over her use of a foreign satellite decoder to screen football matches.

In a decision handed down today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that prohibiting the sale and use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services protected under EU law. In essence, the Court held that the Premier League's system of granting exclusive territorial rights to providers (such as Sky) in Member States was unlawful. Additionally the ECJ considered that there was no copyright in football matches themselves, as such sporting events were not an author's 'intellectual creation' and therefore not 'works' for the purposes of EU copyright law.

However, other aspects of the TV coverage such as the opening video sequence or the Premier League anthem were 'works' and could be so protected.

The ruling isn't binding, and now Karen Murphy's case will go back to the High Court in London, who will make a final decision in the light of this ruling. Nonetheless, it is a major blow for the Premier League and for broadcasters such as Sky and ESPN.