Englewood, Colo.
–
Technologies
and
celebrated a Florida federal court
ruling Monday that awarded them a $51 million judgment against a hacker who
posted software on the Internet enabling the free reception of Dish Network
programming.
The court ruled against Robert Ward for posting the software that
enabled the reception of pirated Dish Network programming from free-to-air
receivers.
In a statement the companies pointed out that the ruling also
offered two significant holdings that will strengthen the companies’ ability to
pursue pirates in the future.
The court held that the posting of pirate software constitutes a
violation of the Federal Communications Act, and that statutory damages should
be calculated based on how many individuals downloaded the pirate software.
“This is a significant victory in our effort to eradicate piracy
of the Dish Network system. We thank the court for its well-reasoned
analysis,” stated Pascal Lenoir, CEO of NagraStar, which produces the
content protection system for Dish Network.
