Signal Pirate Slapped with $51 Million Penalty

ENGLEWOOD: A Florida court has awarded DISH Network, EchoStar and NagraStar $51 million in damages after an individual posted software on the Internet that allowed individuals to illegally access DISH’s pay-TV signal with free-to-air receivers.

In the decision against Robert Ward, 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," said Pascal Lenoir, the CEO of NagraStar, a venture of EchoStar and Kudelski that provides smart cards and conditional access systems for pay-TV platforms.