[Satellite TODAY 01-12-10] A Florida federal court issued a $51 million dollar judgment award to Dish Network, EchoStar Technologies and NagraStar in its anti-piracy lawsuit against Robert Ward, who posted software on the Internet that allowed individuals to illegally receive Dish Network programming using free-to-air receivers, the companies announced Jan. 11.
    In the summary judgment decision, the court held that the posting of pirate software constitutes a violation of the U.S. Federal Communications Act, and that statutory damages should be calculated based on how many individuals downloaded the pirate software.
    “This is a significant victory in our effort to eradicate piracy of the Dish Network system. We thank the court for its well-reasoned analysis," NagraStar CEO Pascal Lenoir said in a statement.

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