Court rules on 'grey-market' satellite decoders
OTTAWA (CP) -- Unlicensed providers selling decoders for foreign-based satellite signals are breaking a federal broadcasting law, says Canada's top court.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 7-0 Friday that such businesses do violate the Radiocommunication Act that outlaws the unauthorized decoding of an encrypted signal.
The judgment is a victory for Canadian satellite giant Bell ExpressVu which is suing a small British Columbia satellite provider.
However, the high court left it up to the so-called grey-market satellite providers to make a strong case in court that the federal law violates freedom of communication guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Thousands of grey-market satellite users across the country were awaiting the outcome of the case that pitted a small British Columbia business against industry heavyweights.
ExpressVu appealed to the high court after failing to persuade lower courts to grant an injunction against Can-Am Satellites, based in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Can-Am and other grey-market businesses feed subscribers signals directly from the United States and other countries. In turn, customers pay in American dollars and are issued a U.S. address.
ExpressVu lawyers argued that Can-Am is luring business away by enticing consumers who might otherwise obtain a similar service from ExpressVu. That's unlawful, they said, because ExpressVu and StarChoice, owned by Shaw Communications, are Canada's only licensed direct-to-home (DTH) providers.
Lower courts weren't convinced.
The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in September 2000 that the Radiocommunication Act does not bar Can-Am from offering Canadians access to foreign signals.
A separate Ontario Court of Appeal judgment last April quashed an RCMP search-and-seizure warrant obtained for satellite dealer Tech Electronics. The court concluded there were no criminal offences occurring at the business that sold grey-market systems.
Lower courts have said broadcasting legislation applies only to signals that originate in Canada. They also cast doubt on whether the punitive aspects of the Radiocommunication Act were meant to catch people intercepting foreign satellite signals.
Can-Am lawyers argued Canadian law cannot reasonably ban the decoding of broadcasts from other countries.
Such a prohibition would violate rights to free expression and communication guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they said.
While grey-market proponents hail freedom of choice in a free market, the two authorized satellite distributors, cable, broadcast and film representatives cite cultural consequences.
They say unlicensed grey-market distributors don't support the Canadian broadcast system, which requires payment from licensed companies to maintain Canadian content.
The broadcast giants warned earlier this month that unlicensed satellite providers are draining millions of dollars from licensed Canadian companies.
Industry critics say that self-interested broadcasters want to maintain control over the viewing market so they can make more money.
The numbers of Canadian viewers bypassing licensed satellite providers has been estimated at anywhere from 200,000 to more than one million. Broadcasters have said the grey market is sucking about $400 million a year out of the Canadian system.
Canoe http://www.canoe.ca/Television/apr26_satruling-cp.html
OTTAWA (CP) -- Unlicensed providers selling decoders for foreign-based satellite signals are breaking a federal broadcasting law, says Canada's top court.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 7-0 Friday that such businesses do violate the Radiocommunication Act that outlaws the unauthorized decoding of an encrypted signal.
The judgment is a victory for Canadian satellite giant Bell ExpressVu which is suing a small British Columbia satellite provider.
However, the high court left it up to the so-called grey-market satellite providers to make a strong case in court that the federal law violates freedom of communication guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Thousands of grey-market satellite users across the country were awaiting the outcome of the case that pitted a small British Columbia business against industry heavyweights.
ExpressVu appealed to the high court after failing to persuade lower courts to grant an injunction against Can-Am Satellites, based in Maple Ridge, B.C.
Can-Am and other grey-market businesses feed subscribers signals directly from the United States and other countries. In turn, customers pay in American dollars and are issued a U.S. address.
ExpressVu lawyers argued that Can-Am is luring business away by enticing consumers who might otherwise obtain a similar service from ExpressVu. That's unlawful, they said, because ExpressVu and StarChoice, owned by Shaw Communications, are Canada's only licensed direct-to-home (DTH) providers.
Lower courts weren't convinced.
The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in September 2000 that the Radiocommunication Act does not bar Can-Am from offering Canadians access to foreign signals.
A separate Ontario Court of Appeal judgment last April quashed an RCMP search-and-seizure warrant obtained for satellite dealer Tech Electronics. The court concluded there were no criminal offences occurring at the business that sold grey-market systems.
Lower courts have said broadcasting legislation applies only to signals that originate in Canada. They also cast doubt on whether the punitive aspects of the Radiocommunication Act were meant to catch people intercepting foreign satellite signals.
Can-Am lawyers argued Canadian law cannot reasonably ban the decoding of broadcasts from other countries.
Such a prohibition would violate rights to free expression and communication guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they said.
While grey-market proponents hail freedom of choice in a free market, the two authorized satellite distributors, cable, broadcast and film representatives cite cultural consequences.
They say unlicensed grey-market distributors don't support the Canadian broadcast system, which requires payment from licensed companies to maintain Canadian content.
The broadcast giants warned earlier this month that unlicensed satellite providers are draining millions of dollars from licensed Canadian companies.
Industry critics say that self-interested broadcasters want to maintain control over the viewing market so they can make more money.
The numbers of Canadian viewers bypassing licensed satellite providers has been estimated at anywhere from 200,000 to more than one million. Broadcasters have said the grey market is sucking about $400 million a year out of the Canadian system.
Canoe http://www.canoe.ca/Television/apr26_satruling-cp.html
Unless u are doin it for the valid bin. in which i condone yer actions! nothin like a good 3M with a valid bin 
