TPP and Protection of Encrypted Program-Carrying Satellite and Cable Signals
2 12 2015IPWatchdog
October 27, 2015
Eleanor K. Meltzer
It is already a criminal act in the United States to intercept and/or decode an encrypted satellite signal. See 18 U.S.C. §2511. Many in the United States may not realize that similar provisions criminalizing interception of an encrypted program-carrying satellite signal are included in Free Trade Agreements already concluded by the U.S., including the North American Free Trade Agreement. With Article QQ.H.9, one might be tempted to read Paragraph 1 as permitting the possession and use of a device which can receive and de-crypt a program-carrying satellite signal (without authorization of the signal’s lawful distributor), although any of the nefarious activities enumerated in Paragraph 1(a) would be criminal. However, Footnote 153 makes clear that receipt and use, or receipt and decoding of the signal are also distinct, criminal activities.
The content in this post was found at http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2015/10/27/tpp-protection-of-encrypted-program-carrying-satellite-and-cable-signals/id=62708/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.
