Webb

I. Background

DTV is a provider of direct-to-home satellite broadcast pro- gramming. Unlike cable television providers, which transmit signals through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables, DTV delivers its signals via satellite directly into its customers’ homes. Customers pay for this service on a subscription or pay-per-view basis. Like conventional radio and television broadcasting, DTV’s signals are broadcast through the air and can be received—or intercepted—by anyone with the proper hardware. Thus, DTV encrypts its signals to protect against signal theft.

To receive DTV’s signals in unscrambled form, an individ- ual must have a hardware system consisting of a satellite dish, a signal processor known as an “integrated receiver/decoder,” DIRECTV, INC. v. WEBB 13719 and an “access card.” The access card is a “smart card” that contains an embedded computer chip and memory, which, when authorized, allows the integrated receiver/decoder to process DTV’s signals for television viewing. The access card is therefore critical to receiving usable signals from DTV. In theory, the other hardware is of little use without an autho- rized access card because…