Anyone here pirate their satellite feeds?
850 in Florida Accused of Piracy by DirecTV
OCALA -- About 850 people are being sued in Florida by a satellite television provider that's accusing them of buying devices to pirate the company's signal.
DirecTV has sued more than 11,000 people nationwide charging them with using smart cards and illegal ``black boxes'' to receive the company's satellite TV service without paying the monthly fee.
The suits were filed in the Middle District of Florida, which stretches from Jacksonville to Fort Myers, and includes Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando.
The company is suing people who bought descrambling equipment from an Indiana-based supplier. DirecTV obtained customer records when police raided the distributor two years ago, Mercer said.
``This has been a problem for the industry for some time,'' said Robert Mercer, director of public relations for DirecTV.
``We've historically targeted more of the upstream guys _ code writers, distributors. ... We're now targeting every link in the chain.''
The satellite company first sends a letter asking the suspected viewer to surrender the device, sign an agreement and pay $3,500 as compensation for past conduct. If that doesn't work, DirecTV takes the matter to court.
David Thompson, of Belleview, is one of the people being sued by DirecTV. He said Wednesday he never received a letter from DirecTV, and learned about the company's lawsuit against him when he was served in the case. He declined to comment further.
Ocala lawyer Paul Guilfoil, who represents Thompson, said DirecTV appears to be trying to send a message by suing users of descrambling equipment.
``It seems to be they're trying to get a lot of publicity out there, so people won't deal with the people who sell them,'' Guilfoil said.
The company has sent out about 70,000 to 80,000 letters nationwide and taken legal action against 11,800 people.