I don't have time to comment on this right now but maybe one of my compatriots does... DirecTV has gotten its grubby hands on the lists of some people who have purchased smart-card programming devices, and is threatening to sue every one of those people. Their logic is that these programmers could be used to "flash" a smartcard that would permit a person to receive a DirecTV signal without authorization. Of course, the programmers also have plenty of legitimate uses.
This issue has been around for a while... EFF is on it.
The really grotesque aspect of the whole thing is DirecTV's offer of a "settlement" of $3,500 -- roughly equivalent to three years of DirecTV service (at $85 a month). But it's less than a lawyer would cost, so at least some people settle.
The article notes that very few of these cases have actually made it through the judicial system... and the evidentiary issues are manifest. But the way the law is exercised nowadays, the fact that DirecTV probably can't prove anything means almost nothing. They have more lawyers, and they're able to capture these people as a result.