MRS Murphy runs the Red White and Blue pub, in Portsmouth. She saves thousands of pounds using a Greek decoder to subscribe to coverage of the FA Premier League, the charges in Greece being much lower than in the UK.

Mrs Murphy found herself facing legal action. Losing in the early rounds, she continued undaunted and last week found support in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from the Advocate-General, Professor Dr Kokott.

His view is that the prohibition of the use of subscriptions purchased in other EU states is an unjustified partition of the single market for services.

Now, before you scrap your Sky box and ship a new device in from Greece, be warned – Dr Kokott’s opinion is just that.

The ECJ follows the Advocate-General’s opinion in about 80 per cent of cases, but there are no guarantees.

The FA Premier League has reacted with predictable defiance, stating that if upheld, Dr Kokott’s opinion will damage the interests of broadcasters and, ultimately, viewers.

The fact that broadcasters will pay far more for exclusivity has nothing to do with it.

There are many difficult questions here.

For example, when building a business based on franchising or licensing, could you be partitioning the internal market when granting exclusive rights in other states?

And when precisely does such a partition become justified?

The FA Premier League, while tolerating a tidal wave of football talent from beyond the boundaries of the EU, will still carve up the world to suit itself.

But you have to ask: just how many will go to the trouble of importing decoders?

They are still going to end up watching Greek TV.

Sky, meanwhile, maintains a discreet silence and, given its recent travails, that might not be a bad thing.

Professor Dr Kokott is one of Europe’s leading lawyers, a mother of six children and a real force to be reckoned with.

* Matthew Rippon is a consultant at BHP Law, where he leads the Innovation Team.

Follow the team at twitter.com/BHPinnovate and at facebook.com/BHPinnovate.

Mr Rippon can also be contacted on 01325-466794.