A court in Amman, Jordan has sentenced a smart card pirate to one year in jail, an $8,500 fine, and the seizure of his equipment. The news was relayed to the General Assembly of AEPOC (European Association for the Protection of Encrypted Works and Services) in Brussels by AMC (Arab Media Corporation and shareholder of ART and ADD Europe).
The pirate was found guilty of IP infringement for the sale of two so-called Dreamboxes that had enabled the end user to watch pay-TV services without a subscription.
AEPOC President Jean Grenier said that jail was applicable in cases that more than blatantly ignore the law. “AEPOC suggests in general to European regulators to develop a more sufficiently dissuasive legal framework that makes more extreme rulings such as imprisonment only necessary in the most severe cases.”
Delegates also heard of successful enforcement action pursued by Portuguese operator TV Cabo and in Canada by Nargrastar, an affiliate of Nagravision, in association with EchoStar and Bell ExpressVu. In the latter case the operator of a piracy forum website received a four-month jail term.
