MONTRÉAL, Oct. 15, 2015 /CNW
Telbec/ - Quebecor today welcomed the Supreme Court of Canada's refusal to hear Bell ExpressVu's
appeal of an historic Québec Court of Appeal judgement ordering it
to compensate Videotron and TVA Group for having neglected to
implement an appropriate security system to prevent piracy of its
television signals broadcast by satellite between 1999 and 2005.
With interest and experts' fees, Bell now owes Videotron and
TVA Group a total of at least $141
million.
"We are pleased that the Supreme Court has confirmed a Québec
Court of Appeal judgement which unequivocally found that, by its
wrongful inaction, Bell encouraged piracy of its satellite signals,
causing considerable harm to Bell's competitors in general and to
Videotron in particular," commented Pierre
Dion, President and CEO of Quebecor. "The unprecedented size
of the damages award reflects the gravity of the harm. Hopefully,
the outcome of this legal saga will prevent the recurrence of any
similar situation and consumers will be able to enjoy the benefits
of healthy competition, which promotes technological innovation and
quality service, in accordance with the rules of law."
The Supreme Court decision spells the final chapter in legal
proceedings that began in 2005. It definitively confirms the trial
court decision rendered in July 2012
by the Honourable Joel A. Silcoff of Québec Superior Court, who
ruled as follows:
[716] For the foregoing reasons, the Court concludes that
BEV(1): (i) was fully aware of the serious breaches of
its existing CAS(2)and the consequent damages of such
breaches to itself and others, (ii) had the available technological
and administrative means available to address this problem and
(iii) failed to act in a timely manner to rectify the
situation.
[717] Its efforts to address the serious breaches of its CAS
in an effective and timely fashion were ineffective and neither
prudent nor reasonable.
[726] It cannot be disputed that BEV was well aware that this
was happening and that damages were being caused as a direct and
immediate consequence of its failure to adequately secure its
signal. Initially, it chose to ignore the gravity of the problem.
It then unduly delayed taking appropriate measures to rectify the
situation until well into May 2004
when final approval of the necessary funding to perform the card
swap was obtained. The full swap-out was only completed in
July 2005 (…).
(1) Bell ExpressVu
(2) Conditional Access System: System
giving conditional access to TV signals carried by Bell ExpressVu
devices.
About Quebecor
Quebecor, a Canadian leader in
telecommunications, entertainment, news media and culture, is one
of the best-performing integrated communications companies in the
industry. Driven by their determination to deliver the best
possible customer experience, all of Quebecor's subsidiaries and
brands are differentiated by their high-quality, multiplatform,
convergent products and services.
Quebecor (TSX: QBR.A, QBR.B) is headquartered in Québec. It
holds an 81.07% interest in Quebecor Media, which employs close to
12,000 people in Canada.
A family business founded in 1950, Quebecor is strongly
committed to the community. Every year, it actively supports people
working with more than 400 organizations in the vital fields of
culture, health, education, the environment and
entrepreneurship.
Visit our website: www.quebecor.com
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SOURCE Quebecor