[net.audio] decoding subscription TV - legality

spp@ucbcad.UUCP (08/06/84)

re: descrambling subscrition TV (legality)

   It has been alleged on the net that it's illegal to 
descramble subscription TV.  It's my opinion that this is
true only in those areas of the country where a local court
has so ruled.  I believe that asides from this, it's perfectly
legal to receive any transmission so long as you don't make
commercial use of it  (i.e., selling either decoders or the
broadcast itself).
   Could someone who disagees with me cite an actual law or
case history to support their claim?

  steve pope ( ..ucbvax!spp)

abh@ccivax.UUCP (Andrew X. Hudson) (08/08/84)

I believe that the point of local jurisdictions having say of subscription
services is correct. However you may have problems with the subscription
business if you are caught. For instance it is a common practice to 
among cable tv companies to charge you through the nose if you are caught
with a channel splitter. Its a matter of losing the service, not going to 
court. I believe many phone companies are the same way.

					Andrew Hudson
-- 
"Freedom of choice is what you got
 Freedom from choice is what you want"
			 - DEVO
	...[rlgvax | decvax | ucbvax!allegra]!rochester!ritcv!ccivax!abh

mikey@trsvax.UUCP (08/11/84)

#R:ucbcad:-2110000300:trsvax:55100048:000:1391
trsvax!mikey    Aug 11 09:34:00 1984



In some localities, the deciding factor on descrambling seems to be if you
intercepted the signal ahead of the box.  I  read of a case in Wisconson
(I think) where the receiver was connected ahead of the cable company 
provided tuner box.  More and more cable companies are starting to
set there boxes up so that they cannot be disconnected from the line
without cutting the cable or having a special tool.  I think that this
was originally so that neighbors couldn't share boxes.  

There has been a lot of argument as to at what point interception becomes 
illegal.  From my OWN point of view, anything that is piped into my house 
or broadcast that I can pick up, I feel that I can do with it as I please,
as long as I do so for personal use.  I just won't tamper with their 
equipment, but if I already split and distribute the signal through my  
house before the converter box, it's MINE!  There are some gottchas.  If it
was broadcast and you record it, it may be illegal due to the clause in the 
communications act of 1934 that says that you can't divulge anything that
you receive or other such laws that really apply only by accident.

Personally, I  just dropped my local cable.  I felt that it was too 
expensive.  They took WOR-9 (NYC) off the cable and I  don't like
subsidizing garbage like MTV and some of the other FREEBIES that are
wasted cable space.

mikey at trsvax

hrs@houxb.UUCP (H.SILBIGER) (08/13/84)

It was mentioned that some cable companies hard-wire the lead-in
to the box to prevent decoding before using the box, on the
presumption that it would be illegal to do it after the
channel selector box. I have never heard that, but have 
signed a contract with them in which it states that I may not
decode the signal as it is being supplied to my tv. I assume
that most cable companies have similar clauses in their 
contracts, which all of you subscribers have signed.
Thus, even if it is not illegal, it is a breach of contract
for which they can discontinue service if they catch you.

As a hypothetical case (hypothetical because I don't own
a VCR or any kind of descrambler), what if one recorded
the scrambled signal on a VCR, and at some later date
played it back and then descrambled it?
Once the tape is being decoded, and not the live broadcast,
would the prohibition still apply.

Most cable companies also charge a rental for their
channel selector box. I am curious if they would permit you
to use your own box instead of theirs.

Herman Silbiger

mmr@utmbvax.UUCP (Mike Rubenstein) (08/15/84)

The cable companies I'm familiar with will allow you to use your own
channel selector box (or just not use theirs if your TV can pick up
all the channels).  Note that the channel selector boxes you can get legally
do not decode the encrypted channels.  I don't think you save all that much
by using your own box, but most of the one's I've seen translate to UHF so
you can use your remote control and your VCR.

Most VCRs cannot record an encrypted signal in such a way that it can be
decoded.

While I've never actually asked about splitting the signal for use with a
VCR, the installer (and the repairman one time when I had a problem)
certainly saw my setup to split the signal for the VCR (I made no attempt
to hide it).  Neither commented or seemed to see anything unusual
about it.
-- 

	Mike Rubenstein, OACB, UT Medical Branch, Galveston TX 77550

smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin) (08/16/84)

There is a crime known as "theft of service"; you can be charged with it
for riding a train without paying a fare, for example.  I suspect that
this would apply to decoding pay cable services as well.  It might not
stick, of course, but you might run up a nice legal bill in the mean time.