Satellite Hackers Charged Under DMCA 578
RexHavoc writes "'Invoking the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal grand jury has indicted six people on charges of developing software and hardware designed to hack into paid TV satellite transmissions.' My guess is that for those who haven't already plead guilty, they will have a tough time proving that they had good intentions, unlike Dmitry Sklyarov's e-books case."
Other places (Score:3, Informative)
Re:for a change.... (Score:1, Informative)
We're talking about the people selling the tools, not the ones possessing or using them. You have to look at the rules for indirect infringment, which do predate the DMCA.
It wouldn't be hard to show that infringement was occuring, that these individuals knew about it, and that these individuals were facilitating it. That would be enough to convict with pre-DMCA copyright laws (and modern interpretation thereof by the courts).
In other draconian news... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Pretty Sad (Score:3, Informative)
Not the ONLY thing DirecTV is using DMCA on (Score:5, Informative)
DirecTV has been engaged in a sort of legalized extortion scheme against people who have purchased smartcard equipment from raided dealers in the USA, undoubtably as part of a plea bargain with such dealers. Yes, these dealers marketed their products towards DSS, but standard ISO smartcard equipment? Come on. The interesting thing about buying products from these dealers was that smartcard programmers, emulators, etc from them was MUCH cheaper than buying from a non-DSS oriented business. To put things in perspective, the average asking price to settle out-of-court with DirecTV is to the tune of $3,000 to $4,000.. again, for the mere purchase/possesion of smartcard equipment.
If you are interested in these cases as well as other satellite related legal issues, please visit http://www.legal-rights.org [legal-rights.org]. There is a wealth of information here.
Slim? (Score:5, Informative)
I have internet access (dialup from home). Some people only have it at work. I do not have cable access. I must use Satellite TV to get anything. I don't understand why you think that Internet access and cable access always go together. Everyone with a phone can have internet access....
T
The FBI Affadavit for the mpik arrest (Score:5, Informative)
Note that these were not small time players. This guy had $133,000 in DSS related monies flying through his Paypal account. (Also note that Paypal sent the FBI a transaction log, same day service, with no warrant. A sobering reminder that eBay/Paypal does not care about your privacy.)
Re:Pretty Sad (Score:2, Informative)
Rights... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:SOME information wants to be free (Score:1, Informative)
No, theft. You've made a copy of information that is the property of the company (without authorization), and then given those copies to third parties, who may or may not have received money for them.
Sheesh, is this the sort of thinking that leads Slashdotters to think they can do whatever they want with a satellite box and claim they weren't stealing satellite service, when that's the only thing one can DO with a hacked satellite box?
Your flat out lying (Score:2, Informative)
Okay, then (Score:0, Informative)
The satellite TV industry and the Motion Picture Association of America lose millions of dollars from piracy, he noted.
How the f*** does the MPAA and the satellite industry "lose" money? Is it falling out of their pockets? Are these pirates stealing it from the bank? This suggests two things, that the interception of these signals costs them money. What, do they have to boost their signals more because more people are receiving them? WTF? So we are assuming that all of these people illegally intercepting these signals would be paying a monthly fee for their service if they were not hacking? Please, I don't think so. I don't hack directv, but the people I know who do wouldn't give them a dime. Ever. So how are they "losing" money again?
Re:That's nothing new... (Score:1, Informative)
Actually, they do remove the meter. They don't, however, remove the line. Ever wonder why there's a little, plastic one-time-use lock on that box? It's because electric meters are removable, and if that lock wasn't there, you could just swap an old meter in place of the one they read, swapping it back out when the meter reader comes around.
Now most meters are equipped with power line modems that report back to the mother ship once a month. Swapping a meter is likely to raise some eyebrows(and litigation) in this day and age.
Re:Excuse me, (Score:2, Informative)
You only own the airspace up to 200 feet or something similarly low. Since aircraft typically fly at 30,000+ they are well out of range of your property.
Likewise, I think you only own 5 feet or so of your Earth. A friend of mine was in some form of construction and told me that the reason why all pipes, wires, conduit, sewage, etc is at least N feet deep is not only to avoid the dangers associated with winter and frozen pipes, but also because homeowners own land N - 1 feet below their house.
Re:What the hell was I thinking yesterday (Score:3, Informative)
Unless you are a peace officer, you don't need to establish probable cause in the sense that you described it. If you can persuade a judge/grand jury/cop that there was a clear and present danger to your life and limb, then you stand a good chance of not having to stand trial for assault, but it is not a guarantee!
Unless you were in a position to make an arrest or issue a warrant, "Probable Cause" is irrelevant. You, as a private citizen, don't need ANY cause to be suspicious. On the other hand, police are supposed to have a specific reason for any suspicion they raise against an individual. Trying to light a bomb, or holding a gun to someone's head are dramatic examples, but decent.