Attorney Steve® IPTV Law Essentials - Pirate TV - Nagrastar settlement approach - Call (877) 276-5084
February 2023 Update: Dish-Nagrastar will likely be going after small resellers and aggregators of pirated IPTV (so-called "mom and pops"). We have seen settlement demands as high as 2.5 million dollars, and we have helped many clients survive and settle these matters without having to go to court. LISTEN IN HERE ON OUR LEGAL PODCAST:
Introduction
If you are involved in reselling illegal IPTV services or devices that provide access to Dish content or Bell Satellite TV, then Nagstar is a company you may come across. Some people think at first that the letter is a scam. Before you make the determination and throw the letter away, it would make sense to call an IPTV defense lawyer to review the situation. If you fail to respond, you never know if they will press civil or criminal charges. We have helped many clients settle these types of TV signal piracy cases. This blog talks about their typical settlement approach - at least as of the time of this posting.
Call us at (877) 276-5084 if you received a cease and desist demand letter, subpoena, or notice of a lawsuit (summons and complaint).
Approach in General
In General, Nagrastar representatives will usually want to resolve the matter "out-of-court" which is good for you. Going to federal court can cost tons of money, and is a "public" filing. This can hurt you in the future when you go looking for employment opportunities or apply for schools, or state licensing such as a real estate or stock brokers license. However, the bigger you are, the closer to the "top" of the pyramid, the more money you made, the higher settlement you can expect. In some cases we have seen demands as high as $2,500,000 for those who actively and intentionally sold infringing IPTV services. In other cases involving IKS (Internet Key Sharing) settlements can be lower, perhaps in the $3,500 range, and still other cases resolve at $7,500 or somewhere give or take depending upon the facts and circumstances.
If you have a "financial hardship" or medical hardship, or agree to cooperate you can often get a good faith reduction.
Potential Defenses
When you are sued by Dish-Nagrastar for pirating, it is important to know what potential defenses you may have. Piracy is a serious offense, and Dish-Nagrastar has the right to pursue legal action against you if they believe you have infringed on their copyrighted material.
Fortunately, there are a few potential defenses to consider when facing such a lawsuit. First, one possible defense is to prove that you did not actually infringe on the copyrighted material. This can be done by demonstrating that you did not directly copy, redistribute, or perform the copyrighted material.
You can also prove that you did not use the material for monetary gain (noncommercial), or that you did not intend to violate any copyright laws.
Second, you may have a defense if you can prove that the material you allegedly pirated was in the public domain. This means that the material was not protected by copyright law and that it was freely available to the public. To prove that the material was in the public domain, you will need to provide evidence, such as published copies of the material, or show that the material has been used in other works without any copyright restrictions.
Third, you may have a defense if you can prove that you were using the material for the purpose of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. This is known as “fair use” and allows you to use copyrighted material without permission from the owner. To prove that you were using the material for one of these purposes, you must be able to show that you used the material for an educational or informational purpose, that the use of the material was not for commercial gain, and that the use of the material did not interfere with the original creator's ability to profit from the material.
Finally, you may have a defense if you can prove that the material you allegedly pirated is not actually owned by Dish-Nagrastar. This could be the case if the copyright were not legally transferred to Dish-Nagrastar from the original creator. To prove this, you will need to provide evidence such as proof that the material was not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office or other proof that the material did not belong to Dish-Nagrastar.
These are just a few potential defenses to consider when facing a lawsuit from Dish-Nagrastar for pirating. It is important to remember that each case is different, and that you should discuss your situation with a qualified attorney before making any decisions. A good lawyer will be able to advise you on the best defense to use in your case.
Apology Letters for SatScams
Another thing Nagrastar likes to do (they are in a joint venture with Kudelski Group - a digital security provider) when pursuing these claims is to seek an "apology letter," which tells how you got started and warning others not to do it. This goes on their "SatScams" website for the world to see. Another good reason to have a lawyer on your side before this gets posted. Here is an example of an apology letter dealing with some of the following companies:
Vader Streams
I write this letter and statement of facts in apology to DISH Networks for the unintentional unauthorized access to their content. I first came into contact with Vader Streams, which I later learned to be an unauthorized service, after hearing about a person selling streaming subscriptions and boxes at a local flea market in [REDACTED]. While I am unsure of who the seller was, I later researched Vader Streams under the impression that it was a legitimate business with the option of becoming a reseller.
While I purchased a small number of subscription credits from Vader Streams, SET TV, and Simply TV, I later ran into issues with the contacts for those entities related to credits. Once I learned that the operations were not, in fact authorized services, I immediately ceased all activity with the companies. Had I known from the start that such services were not authorized, I would never have sought to do business with them. I realize now that such operations serve to hinder the business of DISH and similar companies, and am sorry for any interactions with the illicit entities.
My involvement with the illicit organizations was limited in scope due to the issues I ran into early on with the entities and my discovering their illicit nature. I am not in possession of any hardware associated with the streams. I never had any website or service of my own, but rather was limited to a small number of reseller credits. I do not have a list of customers of the services nor a reseller list due to the limited scope of my involvement. Further, I no longer have login credentials as I took actions to separate myself from the services upon learning of their true nature. The only people involved with the operations that I have knowledge of are [REDACTED] and Christopher Lavell due to my limited email correspondence with them to purchase the reseller credits. Any documentation which I now have in my control or discover will be sent to NagraStar accordingly. Please accept this letter as an apology.
Boom Media IPTV
My name is [REDACTED] and I'd like to present my statement and an apology to Dish Network, NagraStar and any affiliates thereof. I am truly sorry for any harm that I've caused to the company(s) and I know that ignorance is not a defense but in the beginning I truly thought what I was doing was not illegal.
I first got into streaming sometime in early 2017, by just doing research on YouTube and the Internet in regard to the Kodi Media Player. I had heard and viewed some videos about Kodi and eventually I came across something called Boom Kodi. Boom Kodi appeared to be some type of add on for the Kodi Media Player that would allow me to view movies and TV shows through this media player. They had a link to their website, and I believe in early 2017 I purchased there Kodi add on called Boom Kodi as a customer of Boom Media. This was on demand Movies and TV shows. I then begin to hear about Vader Streams which was live TV, Sports, movies and it really interests me, so I bought Vader Streams from Boom as a customer. This was an add on that you can add to the Kodi Media Player, so now I had live TV and on-demand movies and TV shows. I then thought to myself how I could share this with my family and friends, so I reached out and asked about reselling Vader Streams. Even though I built a website and posted a few things back in 2017, I quickly came to realize that that was not the right thing to do, and I stopped and never posted anything again. I never sold anything related to these codes via that website, Facebook, YouTube, or online. This was strictly something for me personally and my family and some friends. Yes, I sold codes but not really for profit just for being able to have a low-cost way to watch live TV movies and TV shows. I'm truly sorry for my part in this process and this will never happen again with me, and I will become an advocate against piracy and illegal acts going forward.
Papiao.tv
Having a limited budget regular subscription satellite and cable was too expensive. I was looking for a less expensive options for TV and found IKS advertised as a less expensive option. After setting it up I realized I wasted my money. The few channels I received were constantly freezing and was impossible to watch. After a while it completely stopped working. I realize now it was wrong and have learned my lesson.
Fish
Some of you might be coming here having received a letter, or some of you might be researching IKS and have heard about such letters and came across this site wondering the legitimacy. Make no mistake about it, the letters are true and its not worth the hassle. The old saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" definitely applies here. You've probably been sold that its easy, its safe and most of all cheap. I can tell you that none of these (especially the last one in the long run) are true. Aside from the service just randomly going out for hours at a time, I am now also stuck with a large fine that assuredly surpasses any amount I "saved". Just use your equipment for what it was originally intended for and watch the multitude of legitimately free OTA content you can pull from local providers. It's truly not worth it.
PODCAST - Attorney Steve® discusses dealing with Nagrastar
Typical "Cooperation" items
Here are some of the things you can expect to agree to if you want a lower settlement amount. Many IPTV transactions are private and you may not have all the items they seek, but we can discuss.
Sign a declaration in support of litigation under penalty of perjury.
Evidence implicating you or another seller, including payment records, customer records skype, email and text communications
Use of various websites, proof of takedown
Debrief phone call - once your case is settled, they might want you to discuss your involvement by phone or zoom with their anti-piracy team
All IPTV-related payment methods/records [PayPal, Stripe, etc.].
All customer lists and sales records
All reseller's list and any payment information
All IPTV correspondence [WhatsApp? Discords / Telegram / Skype, email, IM, etc.]
Divulge your social media login credentials.
IPTV reseller team correspondence.
Data, information, and communication from support forums.
Turnover any hardware associated with streams/panel URLs and login credentials.
All vendor[s] of stream[s] (Sources of content).
Verifiable intel on pirate IPTV streaming organizations and identities of owners, staff, and resellers.
Statement of Facts/apology written in own words [How you got started in streaming and details about how they intend on making things right with DISH / NagraStar.]. This can go on their Satscams website for others to see.
Do you need a lawyer to represent you?
While the SatScams website informs you that you do not need a lawyer (which is true), there are many good reasons why you might. Here are the top 5.
1. They threaten criminal charges (remember, anything you say, or give them, or email them can be used against you in a criminal proceeding).
2.. They are demanding settlements which may include a phone interview ("debriefing"). Do you think you might want someone on your side or not?
3. You want to make sure you get a full confidential release
4. It might make sense to have an attorney help you with the apology letter (if that becomes part of the settlement)
5. A lawyer is on your side and has been through this before and can provide you with peace of mind.
We offer low flat rate fees for non-litigation cases.
Contact a TV Signal Piracy IPTV Defense Law Firm
If you need help with a Nagrastar Dish or Bell TV case in the United States, call us for more information. Intellectual Property infringement is a serious matter and we can help you navigate a fair settlement as we have done for many others. In most cases, we are able to fix a low FLAT RATE FEE.
We can be reached at (877) 276-5084 or fill out our contact form, and we will contact you.
