Dish and Others Win $51 Million in Anti-Piracy Case

A federal court issued a $51 million judgment against Robert Ward for supplying software files allowing nonsubscribers to receive Dish Network programming, the company said Monday. A U.S. district judge in Tampa said Ward violated the federal Communications Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Dish accused him of uploading software and keys to its security system, which can be loaded onto the circuit chips of free-to-air receivers, mimicking Dish access cards and allowing users to watch the programming without paying. The court said Ward provided 255,471 software piracy files. There’s a minimum statutory penalty of $200 per download.

The defense argued that the Communications Act, which prohibits distribution of “any electronic, mechanical, or other device or equipment” used for unauthorized satellite programming decryption, doesn’t cover the distribution of piracy software. The judge disagreed, citing other parts of the act, which defines “telecommunications equipment” to include “software integral to such equipment,” and a dictionary definition of “device.” Ward violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by distributing software that circumvents access measures of copyrighted work and has “no other commercially significant purpose,” the judge said.

Sister company EchoStar Technologies and access-security technology company NagraStar joined Dish in the suit. The judge also issued a permanent injunction preventing Ward from creating or distributing technology to circumvent Dish security.