CJEU rules, in Football Dataco v Sportradar, that “at least” transmission theory applies

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) held, in Football Dataco v Sportradar (Case C 173/11), that the sui generis right (the database right) could apply under the Database Directive in the country of transmission (the country where the database is re-utilised) if there is evidence that the person re-utilising that data intended to target the public in that country.

The reference was made in proceedings between Football Dataco and others and Sportradar concerning the alleged infringement by Sportradar of Football Dataco's sui generis right in its football database.

The CJEU concluded that the Database Directive should be interpreted as meaning that:
"the sending by one person, by means of a web server located in Member State A, of data previously uploaded by that person from a database protected by the sui generis right under that directive to the computer of another person located in Member State B, at that person’s request, for the purpose of storage in that computer's memory and display on its screen, constitutes an act of 're-utilisation' of the data by the person sending it. That act takes place, at least, in Member State B, where there is evidence from which it may be concluded that the act discloses an intention on the part of the person performing the act to target members of the public in Member State B, which is for the national court to assess."

The CJEU’s complete decision can be found here