On September 15, Canada's largest
direct broadcast satellite (DBS) TV company launched its second lawsuit
in less than a month against a retailer selling access to U.S. satellite
TV services. This time, the target is a Hamilton, Ont. retailer named
"The Spot." ExpressVu accuses The Spot of selling U.S. satellite systems
that have been "hacked" so that customers can obtain programming without
paying for it.
This hacking is what differentiates
the so-called "grey market" from the "black market." Grey-market sellers
provide U.S. DBS equipment, but consumers pay for programming, usually
through a false U.S. address. That's necessary, because U.S. DTH companies
do not hold Canadian distribution rights for their programming, and
because the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) has ruled that U.S. DTH services and equipment cannot be legally
sold in Canada.
The remedies sought by Bell ExpressVu
are severe: besides seeking US$10 million in compensatory damages
and US$5 million in punitive damages, the company is asking the court
for a permanent injunction barring The Spot from selling black-market
systems, and to order The Spot to trace and reimburse Canadian residents
to whom it has sold illegal equipment.
These are the same remedies Bell ExpressVu
is seeking in a suit filed on August 20 against Tedsat Corp. in Toronto.
Bell ExpressVu accuses Tedsat, which is an ExpressVu dealer, of selling
both grey-market and black-market systems, and has asked that Tedsat
be enjoined from selling either grey- or black-market equipment.
"As a 'lawful distributor' of programming
signals in Canada, Bell ExpressVu has drawn the line with dealers
of illegal grey and black market DTH systems. It's time to put an
end to this business which has a negative impact on consumers, broadcasters,
distributors and programming rights holders in Canada," said Ian Gavaghan,
Vice-President and General Counsel of Bell ExpressVu, when the action
against Tedsat was announced on August 20.
Ted Edmonds, president of Tedsat,
says he's not going to give up easily. "We plan to fight this lawsuit
vigorously, provided we can afford to," he said. Edmonds says his
initial legal bills, which cover a brief hearing in early September
as well as preparatory work for the case, already amount to $10,000.
He views himself is something of a
freedom fighter, doing battle with the Bell colossus and Canada's
cultural establishment. "We sell whatever programming people want,"
he told AIG Online. "If someone wants ESPN and the Disney Channel,
and asks if they can get it if they pay for it, they're not breaking
the law. Last week, we had a customer who bought a U.S. system because
it has 19 religious channels he wanted to watch. He asked, 'can I
be arrested for having this?' It'll be a sad day for freedom of choice
if I lose this case. I believe people should be able to watch what
they want, on TV or the Internet, or listen to short-wave radio.
