The Supreme Court of the United States of America has turned down a petition against NDS that sought to overturn the August 2010 ruling in the long running EchoStar-Dish hacking case.
Dating back to 2003, EchoStar had accused NDS of maliciously hiring a team of hackers in order to crack the Nagra conditional access technology used by Dish.
“From the outset of the allegations made by EchoStar, we have maintained that the claims were baseless and an effort to thwart competition and deflect attention from a fundamentally flawed technology and strategy pursued by EchoStar and NagraStar,” said NDS executive chairman Dr Abe Peled. “NDS today stands proud of its position as a leading global provider of end-to-end software solutions to the pay-television industry, achieved not through the underhanded schemes alleged by EchoStar, but through the sheer hard work and investment in its 5200 global employees who we believe include some of the brightest and most talented engineers in the industry, with a patent portfolio of over 475 granted patents and over 500 patents pending. This decision is an endorsement to the hard work of our valued employees.”
The denial of the petition brings an end to the challenge to the Ninth Circuit’s award against EchoStar on August 2010, when NDS had emerged as the victor. The petition had been brought by EchoStar Satellite Corporation, now known as Dish Network LLC, EchoStar Communications Corporation, EchoStar Technologies Corporation and NagraStar LLC, a joint venture company between EchoStar and Kudelski Group.
NDS had been awarded $18 million by the Court with a further $4.3 million of NDS funds held in escrow pending appeals. In a statement NDS said it was seeking a further $1.7 million in legal fees, costs and interest.
