Ukraine’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Poverkhnost Sport TV in a dispute with Viasat’s Vision TV.
Kyiv Post reports that Poverkhnost TV accused Vision TV of violating property rights through the unauthorised rebroadcasting of UEFA games in the 2008-9 season. Poverkhnost sub-licensed several TV channels to transmit the matches terrestrially but Vision TV re-broadcast those channels live and in re-runs within its satellite package.
Vision TV has questioned the Supreme Court’s review of the case, “given that the Constitutional Court defined the High Economic Court as the supreme body in the economic courts system”, according to Oksna Ferchuk, DG of Vision TV.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is regarded as unprecedented and could be a landmark fro the future intellectual property disputes in Ukraine, where both Poverkhnost and Viasat operate DTH platforms.
Separately, it is also reported that the Istil Group has raised its stake in Poverhnost Group to 55%. It acquired a 40% in the group in August 2009, with an option of acquiring a controlling stake.
