Murdoch to "hit back hard" on piracy allegations

[dipsydoodle]

Last edited Thu Mar 29, 2012, 06:19 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch vowed to "hit back hard" against what his company president called baseless allegations from the BBC that a subsidiary ran a secret unit to promote piracy against pay-TV rivals.

The BBC's Panorama documentary alleged in a broadcast on Monday that NDS, a pay-TV smartcard maker recently sold by News Corp for $5 billion, hired a consultant to post the encryption codes of ITV Digital, a rival of the then Sky TV, on his website.

In a statement late on Wednesday, News Corp President Chase Carey said the programme presented "manipulated and mischaracterized emails to produce unfair and baseless accusations", and he backed NDS's call for the publicly owned British broadcaster to retract them.

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In a separate letter to Panorama, the executive chairman of NDS, Abe Peled, asked the broadcaster to retract the allegations immediately.



Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/uk-newscorp-piracy-idUKBRE82Q1DA20120329

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Notwithstanding current issues I must confess I found it odd that the BBC made that Panorama program. They'd published this themselves back 10 years ago back in 2002 :

Smartcard squabble: Too good for court

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The Great Smartcard Piracy Row - with its lurid allegations and counter-allegations of industrial espionage, dirty tricks and sharp practice - is already threatening to do enormous damage to the two protagonists.

Canal Plus Technologies makes smartcards for more than 12.5 million digital set-top boxes around the world, including ITV Digital's.

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Last week, you will recall, Canal Plus launched a $1bn (£0.7bn) suit against NDS in the Californian courts, alleging that NDS had conspired to crack its codes and flood the market with forged cards.

NDS was accused of "reverse engineering" (or hacking) the Canal Plus smartcard at its laboratory in Israel, sending the resulting decrypts to its subsidiary in California and then deliberately releasing them onto the internet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1879694.stm

At a later date News Corp bought Vivendi - the Italian company who owned Canal Plus.

This appears to be the one and only court case on this subject which reached a final conclusion Jan 23rd, 2012 :

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition to Review Decision That Found NDS to Be Sole Prevailing Party and Awarded NDS $18M against Dish Network LLC.

LONDON, Jan 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Supreme Court of the United States of America denied a petition to hear the challenge by EchoStar Satellite Corporation, now known as Dish Network LLC, EchoStar Communications Corporation, EchoStar Technologies Corporation and NagraStar L.L.C., a joint venture company between the EchoStar parties and Kudelski Group (collectively, "EchoStar&quot , to a Ninth Circuit decision in which NDS was stated to be the sole prevailing party in a lawsuit between EchoStar and NDS.

The Supreme Court's denial ends the challenge to the Ninth Circuit's award against EchoStar in August 2010, which awarded NDS $18 million and the release of a further US$4.3 million of NDS' funds held in escrow pending the appeals. NDS is seeking a further $1.7 million in attorney's fees, costs and interest.

In August 2010, the Ninth Circuit stated in its decision that "EchoStar did not succeed 'on any significant issue' or 'achieve any of the benefit it sought in bringing suit' under the Communications Act." In February 2011, the Ninth Circuit further stated, "As we discussed in the memorandum decision, EchoStar's characterisation of itself as a prevailing party defies both the legal standard and common sense."

In 2003, EchoStar filed a $2 billion claim against NDS alleging that NDS was responsible for the compromise of EchoStar's satellite television programming platform. NDS vigorously defended the allegations made against it, establishing that NDS played no part in the compromise of EchoStar's security system.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-supreme-court-denies-petition-to-review-decision-that-found-nds-to-be-sole-prevailing-party-and-awarded-nds-18m-against-dish-network-llc-2012-01-23

Despite claims made yesterday :

News Corp accuses BBC of 'gross misrepresentation' over pay-TV claims

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Separately, Australian officials said on Thursday they are not investigating claims by the Australian Financial Review that News Corp promoted piracy in order to cripple its competitors.

"If there's any evidence of that, then the Australian Financial Review should put it to the federal police, but we have not made a reference, the police have not received a reference," the Australian communications minister, Stephen Conroy, said.

A federal police spokeswoman confirmed the agency had not launched an inquiry into the claims.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/29/news-corp-bbc-pay-tv

[tsuki]

1. Rupert Roo has made a lot of enemies. Not surprising. nt

[Crowman1979]

2. Hit back hard = Lie your ass off

[JohnyCanuck]

3. I think this is the program that has Rupert's knickers in a knot

[dipsydoodle]

4. That's the one - Panorama titled Murdoch's TV Pirates.

But its beginning to look like the the BBC may have two choices now : let it go to court which to the best of my knowledge they've never done before or broadcast a retraction which they have done on occasions in the past.

[WillyT]

5. K & R !!!