Brief: Satellite TV Pirate Jailed In Canada

EchoStar Communications Corp., NagraStar and DIRECTV Inc., won a victory over piracy in Canadian courts, the companies said Thursday.

William Boudreau was sentenced to three months in jail after he was found in contempt under an order, similar to a U.S. search and seizure warrant, granted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Feb. 16, 2004, the companies said. Boudreau operated Emulator1.com, a Web site identified as a distributor of piracy devices and software used to steal media content from EchoStar and DIRECTV.

The ruling required Boudreau to give the three companies access to his Web site and all databases, including customer and membership lists, to preserve evidence for litigation. Boudreau refused to grant access to the Web site, failed to take the Website offline and failed to turn over records of the Website’s customers and members. Following the contempt hearing, the court held that Boudreau intentionally obstructed justice. On April 20, Boudreau was sentenced to three months in a provincial correctional institution in Ontario, Canada, and is serving his sentence in the Hamilton Detention Center.