Ninth Circuit Holds Section 605(e)(4) of the Communications Act Does Not Apply to End-users Employing DirectTV Piracy Devices

Amanda Smith — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:19:17 -0700

DirecTV, a satellite programming provider, sued two end-users of pirating technology, arguing that by removing and inserting previously disabled access cards that had been restored by an unlooper into DirecTV’s receivers, the users illegally assembled piracy devices in violation of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 (“FCA”), 47 U.S.C. § 605(e)(4). The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed two district courts’ decisions denying default judgments under the FCA because the complaints failed to state violations of the FCA. The court rejected DirecTV’s argument that their access cards were devices “primarily of assistance in the unauthorized decryption of satellite cable programming.” The Court held that Congress intended section 605(e)(4) to apply to those making piracy devices for commercial purposes, which is punishable by a penalty of up to $100,000, rather than to end-users employing piracy devices for individual personal use, an act punishable by a maximum penalty of $10,000.

, DirecTV Inc. v. Huynh, No. 05-16361 (9th Cir. Sept. 11, 2007)

Pirates and Hollywood

Balazs Bodo — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 14:19:13 -0700

I am researching for my talk to be delivered to the International Intellectual Property Program at Chicago-Kent Law School.

Turning point in copyright infringement cases

Balazs Bodo — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:24:06 -0800

This is the most important thing that has happened on the intellectual property front lately. Former Soviet president Gorbachev asks Microsoft's Bill Gates not to pursue IP litigation against a high school teacher in Perm who used pirated software in classroom because:

- he is poor
- he has dedicated his life to teaching