DISH Network and its affiliated companies won a $51 million judgment Monday in an anti-piracy case against an individual who posted hacking software on the Internet.
A Florida federal court issued the judgment in favor of DISH Network L.L.C., EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. and NagraStar and against Robert Ward, whose Web software allowed individuals to illegally receive DISH Network programming using Free-To-Air receivers.
In the summary judgment decision, 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. We thank the court for its well-reasoned analysis,” said Pascal Lenoir, CEO of NagraStar, a DISH Network subsidiary that provides smart cards and other support services.