Late last month, shortly after press time, a major ECM was dealt by the programmers which effectively shut down 100% of the 3M plastic cards. In addition to shutting the cards off, they were also '99'ed, which means they could not be reprogrammed in that state. This was definitely one of the most severe ECM's they could have thrown down. Both groups were caught off guard, with dissenting opinions as to whether the condition could be corrected or not. Some dealers even had egg on their face since they had already publicly stated that the 99 loop problem was fixed, before it even occurred. As of approximately Dec. 1, the problem was corrected. However neither group can claim to have solved the problem (as of this writing at least...). It seems an unrelated third party has solved this problem, and cards from both groups are being repaired. As of this writing, many people are still without their card. After a 4 and 1/2 month uninterrupted run, most people are not too upset about the down time. The unfortunate ones are those who bought shortly before the ECM.
The so-called "combo" card, which we talked about last month, also has experienced some difficulties. Many people have reported problems receiving PPV services at different times. There is either a bug or two left to work out on this device, or it is easily susceptible to minor changes in the datastream. Time will tell. Rumblings in the underground speak of a so-called "hole" in the H series operating system which allows this fix to run. If this is true, these devices may be easily disabled by modifying the operating system slightly (which they can do since it uses an EEPROM!).
The DDT technology, revealed in last months SWN, appears to be coming out of the woodwork. There are several versions of this card available on the market, from a variety of sources. It seems that whoever the developer of this technology is, they took few steps to ensure security of their technology, or simply didn't care. My prediction is that this style of fix will be the target of aggresive ECMs in the near future. Anytime a technology becomes "public domain", it is inevitable that it will be shut off.
As I informed you last month, the appeal of the Federal Court decision in Ontario was heard in November. Shortly after press time, the decision was announced. It was not favourable for us in any way. Or was it?
On it's own, this decision would appear to completely prohibit the reception of US based services in Canada. As fate would have it, by coincidence or by divine inter-vention, on the very day this decision was delivered, an equally important decision was delivered in Nova Scotia. This decision contrasted incredibly with the Federal Court of Appeal decision. But I think that careful interpretation of both of these decisions leads to two completely seperate scenarios.
The scenario depicted for the Federal Court was that under which a Canadian subscribes to an un-authorized service in Canada, through a fictitious US based mailing address. Grey Market, as it's referred to. Now, I believe that the parties arguing in favour of this practice thought that this was "the right thing to do". After all, what we're paying for it! How could that be wrong? I think their tactics backfired on them. The appearance to the Court was one of a Canadian enterprise being harmed. When someone in Canada is offering much of the same programming, it is hard to convince a Judge that there is no harm being done.
On the other hand, a quite different situation was portrayed in Nova Scotia. That dirty word, Piracy, was now the issue. Should Canadians be prohibited from decoding signals for which they have no Canadian equivalent, and for which no-one holds a vested interest in Canada ? The answer was a loud and resounding NO! The Court concluded that for such a prohibition to exist would liken the Can-adian Government to those of communist countries such as cold war Russia.
So what does this all mean? It would appear to me to be quite reasonable to conclude that the activity of the Grey Market is in fact illegal, however, decoding those same signals without payment through the means of some form of technology, is completely legal. I think it makes good sense for everyone. Why not have the revenues flow back into Canada, rather than to a US company. Again, wherever possible, to stay within the confines of the law, people must pay for any programming which is available for subscription in Canada, even though the technology made available to them may bring in some of this programming.
Well, as I explained last month, I am still waiting for a court date regarding the seizure of my equipment back in Sep-tember. As of this writing, the initial 90 days has expired, without any charges being laid. The Crown is now required to have a hearing before a Judge to determine whether further detention of the things seized is warranted. Can you believe that? Before I can even get before a Judge to dispute the seizure, the 90 day limit on the seizure has expired.
By the time you are reading this, I should hopefully have at least one day in Court! Whether it is on our motion filed, or on the Crown's motion for an extension. As I said last month, it seems a bit perverted that this warrantless search has yet to be authorized by any judiciary, yet such a long period of time can elapse. Hopefully, we will see some real justice soon. Happy New Year.
Dean