gunsmoke2
September 16th, 2000, 10:53 PM
Spoke to David Menzies to get some press..
Here is what he wrote:
Still plenty of grey in satellite TV
Court ruling cheers grey-market dealers, but Expressvu is likely to appeal
David Menzies
Financial Post
Canada's grey market satellite TV dealers are jubilant over a legal victory in a British Columbia court.
Last week, the B.C. Court of Appeal agreed that a section of the Radiocommunication Act is intended to protect the Canadian distributors of satellite signals -- Bell Expressvu and StarChoice -- from black marketeers, and not to prevent reception of U.S.-based DirecTV and other signals emanating from outside Canada.
Grey-market satellite dealers sell satellite dishes and receivers imported from the United States and then arrange for buyers to receive programming from a U.S. satellite provider such as DirecTV. Canadian subscribers then set up U.S. post boxes for billing, as if they were U.S. residents. "The message [of the decision] is: It's legal for Canadians to buy grey-market U.S. satellites and programming," said Gloria Gibbins, who operates Concord, Ont.-based Davia Satellite Systems Ltd. and is co-chairman of the Satellite Communications Association. "Bell Expressvu has tried to destroy the grey-market satellite industry, so we do feel vindicated by the judgments."
Ms. Gibbins noted that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Industry Canada have contended for three years that grey-market satellite dealers are breaking the law like black marketeers -- satellite-equipment dealers who provide pirated satellite TV signals to their clientele for a one-time fee.
Industry Canada has based its policy on a July, 1997, Federal Court case that ruled in favour of Bell Expressvu over grey-market firm Norsat International Inc.
Grey-market firms note that since the Norsat decision, the grey-market industry has had several wins in provincial courts, where some of the rulings have included scathing attacks on the Industry Canada crackdown under which the RCMP has raided several grey-market dealers.
Ian Gavaghan, vice-president and general counsel for Toronto-based Bell Expressvu, said it is likely Bell Expressvu will appeal. "We feel if we took it to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court would rule in our favour. Our interpretation is the common-sense interpretation."
[Edited by RiseStar on September 17th, 2000 at 02:15 AM]
Here is what he wrote:
Still plenty of grey in satellite TV
Court ruling cheers grey-market dealers, but Expressvu is likely to appeal
David Menzies
Financial Post
Canada's grey market satellite TV dealers are jubilant over a legal victory in a British Columbia court.
Last week, the B.C. Court of Appeal agreed that a section of the Radiocommunication Act is intended to protect the Canadian distributors of satellite signals -- Bell Expressvu and StarChoice -- from black marketeers, and not to prevent reception of U.S.-based DirecTV and other signals emanating from outside Canada.
Grey-market satellite dealers sell satellite dishes and receivers imported from the United States and then arrange for buyers to receive programming from a U.S. satellite provider such as DirecTV. Canadian subscribers then set up U.S. post boxes for billing, as if they were U.S. residents. "The message [of the decision] is: It's legal for Canadians to buy grey-market U.S. satellites and programming," said Gloria Gibbins, who operates Concord, Ont.-based Davia Satellite Systems Ltd. and is co-chairman of the Satellite Communications Association. "Bell Expressvu has tried to destroy the grey-market satellite industry, so we do feel vindicated by the judgments."
Ms. Gibbins noted that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Industry Canada have contended for three years that grey-market satellite dealers are breaking the law like black marketeers -- satellite-equipment dealers who provide pirated satellite TV signals to their clientele for a one-time fee.
Industry Canada has based its policy on a July, 1997, Federal Court case that ruled in favour of Bell Expressvu over grey-market firm Norsat International Inc.
Grey-market firms note that since the Norsat decision, the grey-market industry has had several wins in provincial courts, where some of the rulings have included scathing attacks on the Industry Canada crackdown under which the RCMP has raided several grey-market dealers.
Ian Gavaghan, vice-president and general counsel for Toronto-based Bell Expressvu, said it is likely Bell Expressvu will appeal. "We feel if we took it to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court would rule in our favour. Our interpretation is the common-sense interpretation."
[Edited by RiseStar on September 17th, 2000 at 02:15 AM]