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Man fined for selling pirated pay TV decoders

January 30 2003

A Melbourne man has been convicted and fined $20,000 for distributing pirated pay TV decoders, marking the first investigation of its kind in Victoria.

At the Sunshine Magistrates Court yesterday, Roger Rivo, 38, of no known address, admitted to making pirated Foxtel smart cards which enabled users to tune in to the pay TV network.

He pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a machine to make false documents, making a broadcast decoding device, and distributing a broadcast decoding device.

In a police summary, the court heard Rivo told police he generally sold the smart cards for $250 individually or as part of a satellite package he installed for $1,200.

In an interview with police, Rivo admitted to making 60 of the cards last year until his arrest outside a Footscray hotel on June 12, the court heard.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Sharon Hayhoe said police had observed Rivo trying to sell 20 smart cards to a third man in the Plough Hotel for $10,000.

After they arrested him, they found a laptop computer and encryption device used to illegally encode the cards in his car and later seized more computer gear from his home.

Once encoded, the cards would allow viewers to receive more than 100 satellite programs without paying, Sen Const Hayhoe said.

The court heard Rivo later told police he purchased the blank smart cards for $20 each over the internet, then used the codes from two genuine Foxtel cards to clone templates onto the blank smart cards.

It is believed the cards later became inoperable as a result of anti-piracy measures adopted by Foxtel.

Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association executive director Debra Richards said the case was the first investigation begun in Victoria although subsequent cases had already been dealt with.

Ms Richards hailed the $20,000 penalty, noting pirate pay TV subscriptions were costing the industry an estimated $50 million annually.

"This is a very significant penalty, it sends a strong message to people: 'this a crime'," she said.




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