Are cable descramblers illegal?

[devonhiee]

I would like to know if possessing and operating a cable descrambler in your household is illegal. I have seen these in the back of magazines and papers and find it odd that if it was illegal, why are they being advertised?

Cable descramblers aren't the same as black boxes. With a cable descrambler, you need to pay for the service (can be the cheapest service) and it unscrambles the signal and it becomes clear. A black box steals the cable signal and you get all the channels.

Can someone please shed light on this? Thanks.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I would like to know if possessing and operating a cable descrambler in your household is illegal. I have seen these in the back of magazines and papers and find it odd that if it was illegal, why are they being advertised?

Cable descramblers aren't the same as black boxes. With a cable descrambler, you need to pay for the service (can be the cheapest service) and it unscrambles the signal and it becomes clear. A black box steals the cable signal and you get all the channels.

Can someone please shed light on this? Thanks.

In both instances you are obviously purchasing the box in order to obtain services that are the property of someone else that you are not paying for. Owning an item may not be illegal. Using it for certain purposes may be. For example, peer to peer file sharing is not illegal per se. It can be used beneficially between people to share files such as "wikipedia" is a collaborative volunatry effort. If the peer to peer network is used to share copyrighted files, then the software isn't illegal but the usage is. In this instance while a cable descrambler box might not be "per se" illegal, you will be using it for an illegal purpose. Technically, I believe it is your responsibility to alert your cable company that you are hooking up the box to receive their signal with the device. Of course, most people don't tell the cable company but the manufacturer states this isn't their responsibility because the box can be used for a legal purpose, where you don't have to pay the cable company for another descrambler box to watch their programming. Make sense?

 

[devonhiee]

Thanks thelawprofessor. The reason I am asking is because I had a friend before that used to talk about his "black box". Don't know if he still has it, but the question arose when a couple of friends and I were pondering on the subject since we used to always see "Descrambler for sale" and such advertisements on the back of magazines and papers. I know the technology isn't the same, since Black Box steals the signal whilst the Descrambler rearranges, filters, and obviously, "descrambles" the signal that they legally send you, so I wasn't sure if it was illegal or not. Black box is an obvious offense, and all the adds they put on tv is, "Do you know someone that gets cable and they shouldn't?" but they never say anything about "Descramblers".

Also, I have seen a lot of people that sell "descramblers" are basically just the same cable boxes that the cable company gives you. So are these really "descramblers"? Why would you want to purchase it from someone else if you can get it from your cable dealer? Would it be because you would have to pay monthly to your cable service?

One more thing. Any idea where this would fall under in court or the law? Any specific laws?

Thanks again thelawprofessor.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Thanks thelawprofessor. The reason I am asking is because I had a friend before that used to talk about his "black box". Don't know if he still has it, but the question arose when a couple of friends and I were pondering on the subject since we used to always see "Descrambler for sale" and such advertisements on the back of magazines and papers. I know the technology isn't the same, since Black Box steals the signal whilst the Descrambler rearranges, filters, and obviously, "descrambles" the signal that they legally send you, so I wasn't sure if it was illegal or not. Black box is an obvious offense, and all the adds they put on tv is, "Do you know someone that gets cable and they shouldn't?" but they never say anything about "Descramblers".

Also, I have seen a lot of people that sell "descramblers" are basically just the same cable boxes that the cable company gives you. So are these really "descramblers"? Why would you want to purchase it from someone else if you can get it from your cable dealer? Would it be because you would have to pay monthly to your cable service?

One more thing. Any idea where this would fall under in court or the law? Any specific laws?

It's pretty simple really. It's cable theft, a criminal and civil offense. If you read the fine print of many of those places that sell the descramblers, they say it is your responsibility to alert the cable company that you are using a cable box on their line.

Here are Time Warner's and Cox Cable's page about cable theft, which are nothing more than a general scare pages with little meat.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/northeastohio/products/theft/theft.html
http://www.cox.com/hr/help/cable/theft.asp

However, they are correct that various states have created specific laws regarding cable theft, e.g. Ohio, Washington and more. I'll cite the federal law afterwards, but here is my favorite "legal disclaimer" from a leading web site selling black/descrambler cable boxes. As you can see, it specifically cites "Title 47 of the United States Code 553" which is a code making it illegal to do what you want to do.

The purchaser of CATV (Cable TV) Equipment/Products (i.e. cable tv decoder) is NOT authorized to use the equipment on any CABLE TV system without the cable company's authorization. The purchaser is required to notify their local cable company and obtain authorization for the use of the equipment prior to installation. The seller of this equipment does NOT advocate the THEFT of cable services. Laws regarding the sale and use of cable television equipment vary from state to state. You should be advised that there are FEDERAL, STATE and LOCAL laws prohibiting theft of cable services which carry substantial criminal and civil penalties. The seller of this equipment assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY for claims arising from the use or the resale of this equipment.


LEGAL DISCLAIMER

By ordering any cable equipment you agree to notify your cable provider and pay for all services you receive. You agree not to use to use any equipment purchased on Time Warner, Media One, Cablevision, TCI or Comcast cable system. You agree to Comply with the rules of the 1996 Cable Act. You also agree to indemnify the seller of these products for any legal expenses they may incur due to illegal or improper use by the purchaser. You agree by the penalties of perjury that you are not a cable company purchasing products or a purchasing agent for them purchasing for the purpose of taking legal action against the seller.


SALE OF DESCRAMBLING DEVICES
Descrambling devices are NOT sold with the intentions of defrauding any Cable TV Company of any legitimate fees which are due them. Any descramblers purchased from us is to be used only with the WRITTEN permission from the Cable TV Company (This is up to you to get this authorization). This can be normally done by paying the Cable TV Company for FULL SERVICE on all channels that the descrambling device will receive and descramble.

OWNERSHIP
Ownership of any Test Kit, or Descrambling device DOES NOT give you the right to receive free Cable TV signals. It is YOUR responsibility to comply with ALL LOCAL, STATE and FEDERAL laws as well ALL Cable TV rules and Regulations.

It is your responsibility to notify your cable provider that you are using your own equipment!

Federal and State laws provide civil and criminal penalties for anyone that receives cable service without paying for it. While it may be legal to purchase and own your own cable TV equipment, it is still possible that the equipment can be used in an illegal manner. We will not aide anyone in the theft of cable TV services. Anyone implying that they have an intent to steal cable services will be denied assistance and may be reported to the cable company. By purchasing any cable TV equipment, the customer agrees to comply with all laws (State and Federal) regarding the reception of cable TV.

As an inducement to the Seller to sell me cable equipment, I HEREBY DECLARE, under penalties of perjury, that I understand that federal law and various state laws provide for substantial criminal and civil penalties for the theft of cable television services, and that all products that I purchase from the Seller, now and in the future, will not be used to intercept any cable television signal without proper authorization from my local cable company and payment of all lawful charges, and I will only use the equipment in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws. You must comply with all federal, state and local laws regarding private ownership of cable TV equipment. Title 47 of the United States Code 553 states that: "No person shall intercept or receive or assist in intercepting or receiving any communications service offered over a cable system, unless specifically authorized to do so by a cable operator or as may otherwise be specifically authorized by law." In the event that I am a dealer in cable television equipment, I will not advertise such products with the intent that any purchaser buy the equipment for the purpose of aiding in any theft of cable television services, nor will I sell or otherwise transfer any equipment I have purchased from the dealer to any third party who I know or may suspect will use any such cable equipment for the theft of cable television services. As an inducement to alldescramblerboards.com, I agree to indemnify cablescene.com for any cost or expense which may incur as a result of my breach of the foregoing declaration.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

United States Code Title 47, Chapter 5, § 553. Unauthorized reception of cable service

(a) Unauthorized interception or receipt or assistance in intercepting or receiving service; "assist in intercepting or receiving" defined
(1) No person shall intercept or receive or assist in intercepting or receiving any communications service offered over a cable system, unless specifically authorized to do so by a cable operator or as may otherwise be specifically authorized by law.
(2) For the purpose of this section, the term "assist in intercepting or receiving" shall include the manufacture or distribution of equipment intended by the manufacturer or distributor (as the case may be) for unauthorized reception of any communications service offered over a cable system in violation of subparagraph (1).

(b) Penalties for willful violation
(1) Any person who willfully violates subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or both.
(2) Any person who violates subsection (a)(1) of this section willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for any subsequent offense.
(3) For purposes of all penalties and remedies established for violations of subsection (a)(1) of this section, the prohibited activity established herein as it applies to each such device shall be deemed a separate violation.

(c) Civil action in district court; injunctions; damages; attorney's fees and costs; regulation by States or franchising authorities
(1) Any person aggrieved by any violation of subsection (a)(1) of this section may bring a civil action in a United States district court or in any other court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) The court may -
(A) grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain violations of subsection (a)(1) of this section;
(B) award damages as described in paragraph (3); and
(C) direct the recovery of full costs, including awarding reasonable attorneys' fees to an aggrieved party who prevails.

(3)(A) Damages awarded by any court under this section shall be computed in accordance with either of the following clauses:
(i) the party aggrieved may recover the actual damages suffered by him as a result of the violation and any profits of the violator that are attributable to the violation which are not taken into account in computing the actual damages; in determining the violator's profits, the party aggrieved shall be required to prove only the violator's gross revenue, and the violator shall be required to prove his deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the violation; or
(ii) the party aggrieved may recover an award of statutory damages for all violations involved in the action, in a sum of not less than $250 or more than $10,000 as the court considers just.

(B) In any case in which the court finds that the violation was committed willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, the court in its discretion may increase the award of damages, whether actual or statutory under subparagraph (A), by an amount of not more than $50,000.
(C) In any case where the court finds that the violator was not aware and had no reason to believe that his acts constituted a violation of this section, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of damages to a sum of not less than $100.
(D) Nothing in this subchapter shall prevent any State or franchising authority from enacting or enforcing laws, consistent with this section, regarding the unauthorized interception or reception of any cable service or other communications service.

 

[devonhiee]

Thanks again, you always pull through and I appreciate it! I didn't know about these Disclaimers and I find it very funny (not to laugh at, but ridiculous) that the whole purpose is to descramble the signal, yet they word it in such a way to free them of any charges and fines that the buyer may incur.

I did find the wording a bit troublesome however, and I will explain why.

"(a) Unauthorized interception or receipt or assistance in intercepting or receiving service; "assist in intercepting or receiving" defined"

The definition of the word Interception from www.Dictionary.com states:

"# To stop, deflect, or interrupt the progress or intended course of: intercepted me with a message as I was leaving. "


The descramblers do nothing of the kind. You are already getting the signal legally, just that it is scrambled. You are not intercepting the signal at all, but you are altering it. Therefore, wouldn't this law need to be reworded in order for the descrambler to be included in this violation? Can this be argued in court?

Thanks again, I appreciate all your help here on the boards.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Thanks again, you always pull through and I appreciate it! I didn't know about these Disclaimers and I find it very funny (not to laugh at, but ridiculous) that the whole purpose is to descramble the signal, yet they word it in such a way to free them of any charges and fines that the buyer may incur.

I did find the wording a bit troublesome however, and I will explain why.

"(a) Unauthorized interception or receipt or assistance in intercepting or receiving service; "assist in intercepting or receiving" defined"

The definition of the word Interception from www.Dictionary.com states:

"# To stop, deflect, or interrupt the progress or intended course of: intercepted me with a message as I was leaving. "


The descramblers do nothing of the kind. You are already getting the signal legally, just that it is scrambled. You are not intercepting the signal at all, but you are altering it. Therefore, wouldn't this law need to be reworded in order for the descrambler to be included in this violation? Can this be argued in court?

Thanks again, I appreciate all your help here on the boards.

You're really pushing this issue and I can understand why, lol.

What you are looking at is the definition of those terms, not exclusively. You would be correct if the word "interception" was the only one that applied in this definition. But it isn't.

"(a) Unauthorized interception or receipt or assistance in intercepting or receiving service; "assist in intercepting or receiving" defined"

It is interception OR receipt OR assistance in any of the prior. With the cable box it is assistance in receiving service. Then the 2 other sections further clarify what the above definitions include and it clearly includes cable signal descramblers.

I'm not sure how "legal" it is to sell the descramblers and believe that if it is advertised to steal cable there is no question that cable companies can go after them. All that mumbo jumbo -- my favorite is the "Internet Privacy Act signed by President Clinton -- is usually hogwash designed to fool the buyer into thinking that he can rationalize the legality of transactions and usage.

 

[devonhiee]

Ah ok thanks for the clarification.

Off topic, but in courts, do they seriously argue the legalities by the way something is worded? Even though the person who wrote the law meant to include it, but since the way it was worded, could that throw it out of court? If so, would that mean that the law would need to be revised?

As far as that Internet Privacy Act, what would be the point of doing that? So someone can get sued? Also, have you heard of that internet thing that George Bush signed that would make it illegal to annoy someone online without giving your real name (ie. using a user name instead of your real name)? I find that ridiculous as well.