Court bans Premiere hacker receivers

[chris]

German pay-TV operator Premiere has won another victory against organised hackers.

The Hamburg district court has issued a temporary injunction against an importer of patchable free-to-air receivers which can be technically manipulated to illegally receive Premiere’s channels.

The company, Zehnder, has been threatened with fines of up to €250,000 or six months imprisonment if it continues to market the set-top-boxes. Zehnder’s boxes have an operating system containing a so-called emulator which simulates the presence of a smart card and therefore, in conjunction with available software, enables circumvention of Premiere’s encryption system. According to the Munich-based broadcaster, the receivers in question implemented preinstalled applications which were “clearly designed” to enable the illegal reception of Premiere’s programmes without a subscription.

At the same time, the judges ordered that all illegal receivers currently held by Zehnder be confiscated and given into legal custody for safe keeping. Additionally, the company must provide immediate details about the origin and operating software of the devices, their manufacturers, suppliers, prior owners, commercial buyers and the volume of receivers produced, supplied, delivered and ordered.

Premiere says it will take legal action against all those involved in the sale or purchase of the receivers. It is also preparing to claim damages against Zehnder and all involved in the retail of the boxes.




Source: Rapid TV News

[rolfw]

This potentially has very big implications Europe wide, not that long ago, receivers could not be bought with patches pre-installed, but there has been a tendency of late to sell them "ready to go" and hence open to legal action.

[T_G]

So as long as the original image does not have the emu or keys in it's ok?

[rolfw]

Not saying that, but supplying it ready to roll is certainly asking for trouble.