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DKS
Damn Kidney Stones

join:2001-03-22
Owen Sound, ON

DKS to Ian1

to Ian1

Re: DTV illegal in Canada? What is the legal justification?

said by Ian1:

said by DKS:

It is considered acceptable in Canada, mostly for copyright and licensing reasons, to not allow free access to American satellite signals. You can believe differently, but what you have is the way it is, for good and legitimate reasons.

Acceptable to who? And legitimate to who?

I don't consider (morally or ethically) that it is a crime to "infringe on someones business model".

I see picking up a US satellite TV signal to be no different to when I was a kid and watching the Buffalo stations via a tall antennae. As far as I'm concerned, get a US post office box, US credit card, pay for it, and watch it with a crystal clear conscience. Might you get fined? Sure. You might also win the lottery.

When you are bypassing the rights of the broadcasters, who paid very good money for the right to distribute a program in Canada, it's theft. That's a crime. Rationalize it any way you want, but in law, it's still theft. Don't like it? Change the law. But so far, the rights of the distributor are pretty clear. And the right to block is also grounded in law, unless you pay the distributor. That's their business model and how they make money.