DIRECTV LOSES APPEAL IN PIRACY CASE AGAINST FLA. MAN
A federal appeals court rebuked the DirecTV Group for a “tortured reading” of federal wiretap law, in upholding a lower court ruling that a Fla. man couldn’t be sued for possession of devices designed to pirate programming. The 11th Circuit U.S. Appeals Court ruled that because a section of the federal wiretap law of 1986 doesn’t “create a private right of action” against someone who “possesses” a piracy device, “we cannot create one.” Courts, the appeals panel said, “may not create” a private right of action “because that is a determination Congress alone can make.”
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DirecTV sued Michael Treworgy for allegedly possessing 2 devices -- PT2 Pocket Pal Programmer and PT2 Pocket Pal Upgrade Chip -- that he purchased from Fulfillment Plus, a Cal.-based mail order company. DirecTV said in briefs filed with the court that it has 1,800 similar complaints pending in Fla. alone under a section of federal law that makes it a crime to possess devices that can intercept satellite transmissions.
Siding with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which wrote a brief in support of Treworgy’s case, the appeals court said it was “difficult to understand” how DirecTV could establish a case under the Constitution, which “defines and limits” judicial power, without alleging that Treworgy “injured or directly threatened” the company. “Possession of a pirate access device alone, although a criminal offense, creates nothing more than conjectural or hypothetical harm” to DirecTV, the panel said, returning the case to a federal court in Fla. for further proceedings.
Meanwhile, Acacia Media Technologies sued DirecTV along with EchoStar, Charter, Comcast and Cox, for alleged patent infringement, seeking royalties that could total more than $100 million a year. The patent at the heart of the case covers the transmission and reception of digital media in cable, satellite, Internet and wireless. The 5 patents were granted in 1992 to Greenwich Information Technologies, which Acacia bought in 2001.
The 21-employee Acacia has built a business around suing companies it claims have violated its patents on streaming media. Many companies settle by negotiating licensing agreements with Acacia. Last year, for example, Acacia sued 39 pornography websites; 30 settled. Acacia has 123 licensees including Walt Disney Co., Playboy Enterprises, On Command and LodgeNet Entertainment.
The companies sued earlier this week in U.S. Dist. Court, San Francisco, likely will fight the suit. Comcast and Cox, with more than 21 million and 6.4 million subscribers, respectively, denied the allegations and vowed to fight them in court. DirecTV and EchoStar officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
Acacia’s patents cover the breaking of video or audio files into small blocks that can be transmitted quickly over the Internet, digital cable or satellite. The blocks are then reassembled for viewing or listening. Acacia officials said they have been in discussions with satellite and cable companies for 6 months without results. No penalties are specified in the suit, but Acacia officials said the company would generally collect $1 to $1.25 per digital cable or satellite customer per year.