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Originally posted on 2011-07-21
Federal Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Sonicview IKS Dongles and Awards $14.4M in Damages
On July 19, 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California entered a permanent injunction against former Sonicview employee Chris Whitcomb and his business ProSonicview. Whitcomb used his ProSonicview business as a “dealer” of various Sonicview related products and was sued by DISH Network, EchoStar Technologies and NagraStar earlier this year after he ignored a prior preliminary injunction barring the Sonicview iHub dongle. Whitcomb attempted to re-package the iHub and sell it under the names “SV-Lan” and “NewLink”. Earlier in the case the court granted DISH Network‘s preliminary injunction finding that DISH Network was likely to prevail on the DMCA and Communications Act claims asserting these devices were primarily designed for piracy.
The Court’s July 19 Order entered a permanent injunction against further piracy-related sales by Whitcomb – including sales of the Sonicview iHub, SV-Lan and New Link. The Court also ordered Whitcomb to destroy all remaining inventory of these piracy products and to verify the destruction under oath with the Court within 60 days. Finally, the Court assessed statutory damages against Whitcomb under the Communications Act and awarded DISH Network $10,000 per device sold totaling $14.4 Million.
Federal Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Sonicview IKS Dongles and Awards $14.4M in Damages
On July 19, 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California entered a permanent injunction against former Sonicview employee Chris Whitcomb and his business ProSonicview. Whitcomb used his ProSonicview business as a “dealer” of various Sonicview related products and was sued by DISH Network, EchoStar Technologies and NagraStar earlier this year after he ignored a prior preliminary injunction barring the Sonicview iHub dongle. Whitcomb attempted to re-package the iHub and sell it under the names “SV-Lan” and “NewLink”. Earlier in the case the court granted DISH Network‘s preliminary injunction finding that DISH Network was likely to prevail on the DMCA and Communications Act claims asserting these devices were primarily designed for piracy.
The Court’s July 19 Order entered a permanent injunction against further piracy-related sales by Whitcomb – including sales of the Sonicview iHub, SV-Lan and New Link. The Court also ordered Whitcomb to destroy all remaining inventory of these piracy products and to verify the destruction under oath with the Court within 60 days. Finally, the Court assessed statutory damages against Whitcomb under the Communications Act and awarded DISH Network $10,000 per device sold totaling $14.4 Million.