Direct TV sues 22,100 people

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 22:16:05 -0500
From: Barry Ritholtz <ritholtz () optonline net>
Subject: Direct TV sues 22,100 people
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Dave,

For IP. This is an outrageous abuse of the legal system.
Tort reform? We need Satellite litigation reform.

Barry L. Ritholtz
Market Strategist
Maxim Group
britholtz () maximgrp com
(212) 895-3614
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Big Picture:  A blog of capital markets, geopolitics, with a dash of film!
<http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/>http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/ 





There's No Such Thing as Free HBO
Satellite television giant DIRECTV  is suing thousands who may or may 
not  have hijacked its signal. And you  thought the music industry was tough.
BY KARA PLATONI

<http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2004-02-18/cityside.html/1/index.html>http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2004-02-18/cityside.html/1/index.html 


 Meet Michael and Mike. No last names, since both East Bay residents are 
embroiled in a legal battle with digital satellite provider DIRECTV that 
involves tens of thousands of people and has raised serious concerns about 
civil liberties. Michael is a college student from Alameda, Mike an 
electrical engineer from Blackhawk. What they have in common is that 
they've been accused of pirating DIRECTV's signal using a cheap and readily 
available device called a smart card.

Unlike your ATM card, which gets you into a computer network to do your 
banking, a smart card contains a chip that can store a considerable amount 
of information. This emerging technology has a growing number of everyday 
applications -- nearly two billion cards were sold last year. The American 
Express Blue smart card, for instance, allows secure online shopping. 
Starbucks uses the technology in its prepaid debit cards. Smart cards also 
can be used to store computer passwords, or to control employee access to 
buildings and authorized areas. More to the point, DIRECTV uses them to 
control customers' access to its 225-plus channels of programming and 
pay-per-view movies. People who buy the service get a satellite dish and a 
card that lets their TV-top decoder box unscramble the signal.

But smart cards are hackable, and some people have hacked them to get their 
DIRECTV fix for free. Alongside legitimate products, some Web sites and 
mail-order outlets have hawked smart-card programmers as devices for 
reprogramming DIRECTV access cards, in addition to "preflashed" cards that 
have been coded to steal DTV's signal. In the fall of 2002, the satellite 
TV giant raided a half-dozen such businesses and seized their customer 
lists. Now, in what may be the largest legal action in US history, it is 
threatening to sue everybody on those lists, including Michael and Mike.

The company has written to roughly 150,000 of these customers, warning that 
each may be liable for up to $10,000 per device -- $100,000 if the devices 
are resold. In most cases, DIRECTV will back off if the accused agrees to 
shell out a $3,500 settlement, surrender the devices in question, and sign 
a pledge to never pirate the company's signal again. So far, it has sued at 
least 22,100 people who have refused to settle. Very few cases have 
proceeded all the way through the court system. DIRECTV has had a handful 
of court victories, including a $30,000 judgment this month against a 
Florida man. The company also dropped a few cases at the last minute, 
although it won't reveal how many it has dropped or settled.  . . .
= </x-html>  

-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/