Parbinthere
May 16th, 2001, 11:40 AM
Anti-Piracy Efforts Build with DirecTV Suit
In its continuing efforts to enact aggressive force against satellite television piracy, DirecTV announced it filed a federal lawsuit against 80 individuals whom it believes trafficked illegal signal theft equipment imported from Canada for sale in the U.S.
The imported pirate technology - which included pirated access cards and the devices used to re-program them - enabled those who purchased the pirate devices to unscramble and view DirecTV programming without legal authorization. The federal complaint was filed on March 16 in a U.S. District Court.
Larry Rissler, vice president of signal integrity for DirecTV, said, "This aggressive action, against multiple defendants, underscores our steadfast commitment to protect the integrity of our signal."DirecTV believes the 80 defendants purchased the illegal equipment from Reginald Scullion and his wife, Frances Callan, both Quebec residents against whom DirecTV won a $19 million federal judgment in January for the illegal exportation of pirate technology and equipment from Canada to the U.S. It is alleged that the 80 defendants acted as dealers for the Scullions, buying programming devices and selling the hacked access cards.
In addition to the $19 million judgment in January and a prior $34 million judgment received from a federal court in Seattle against an international satellite piracy ring, DirecTV continues to disable illegally modified cards through electronic countermeasures.
"We take piracy seriously, it is a serious crime and we are becoming much more aggressive in pursuing these individuals who engage in this activity. We are going after them through courts, both civilly and criminally. And of course, we have also stepped up our electronic countermeasure activity," a DirecTV spokesperson said.
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In its continuing efforts to enact aggressive force against satellite television piracy, DirecTV announced it filed a federal lawsuit against 80 individuals whom it believes trafficked illegal signal theft equipment imported from Canada for sale in the U.S.
The imported pirate technology - which included pirated access cards and the devices used to re-program them - enabled those who purchased the pirate devices to unscramble and view DirecTV programming without legal authorization. The federal complaint was filed on March 16 in a U.S. District Court.
Larry Rissler, vice president of signal integrity for DirecTV, said, "This aggressive action, against multiple defendants, underscores our steadfast commitment to protect the integrity of our signal."DirecTV believes the 80 defendants purchased the illegal equipment from Reginald Scullion and his wife, Frances Callan, both Quebec residents against whom DirecTV won a $19 million federal judgment in January for the illegal exportation of pirate technology and equipment from Canada to the U.S. It is alleged that the 80 defendants acted as dealers for the Scullions, buying programming devices and selling the hacked access cards.
In addition to the $19 million judgment in January and a prior $34 million judgment received from a federal court in Seattle against an international satellite piracy ring, DirecTV continues to disable illegally modified cards through electronic countermeasures.
"We take piracy seriously, it is a serious crime and we are becoming much more aggressive in pursuing these individuals who engage in this activity. We are going after them through courts, both civilly and criminally. And of course, we have also stepped up our electronic countermeasure activity," a DirecTV spokesperson said.
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