
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 47USC553]

 
          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
 
                 CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
 
                  SUBCHAPTER V-A--CABLE COMMUNICATIONS
 
                    Part IV--Miscellaneous Provisions
 
Sec. 553. Unauthorized reception of cable service


(a) Unauthorized interception or receipt or assistance in intercepting 
        or receiving service; ``assist in intercepting or receiving'' 
        defined

    (1) No person shall intercept or receive or assist in intercepting 
or receiving any communications service offered over a cable system, 
unless specifically authorized to do so by a cable operator or as may 
otherwise be specifically authorized by law.
    (2) For the purpose of this section, the term ``assist in 
intercepting or receiving'' shall include the manufacture or 
distribution of equipment intended by the manufacturer or distributor 
(as the case may be) for unauthorized reception of any communications 
service offered over a cable system in violation of subparagraph (1).

(b) Penalties for willful violation

    (1) Any person who willfully violates subsection (a)(1) of this 
section shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more 
than 6 months, or both.
    (2) Any person who violates subsection (a)(1) of this section 
willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial 
gain shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more 
than 2 years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not 
more than $100,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for 
any subsequent offense.
    (3) For purposes of all penalties and remedies established for 
violations of subsection (a)(1) of this section, the prohibited activity 
established herein as it applies to each such device shall be deemed a 
separate violation.

(c) Civil action in district court; injunctions; damages; attorney's 
        fees and costs; regulation by States or franchising authorities

    (1) Any person aggrieved by any violation of subsection (a)(1) of 
this section may bring a civil action in a United States district court 
or in any other court of competent jurisdiction.
    (2) The court may--
        (A) grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it 
    may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain violations of subsection 
    (a)(1) of this section;
        (B) award damages as described in paragraph (3); and
        (C) direct the recovery of full costs, including awarding 
    reasonable attorneys' fees to an aggrieved party who prevails.

    (3)(A) Damages awarded by any court under this section shall be 
computed in accordance with either of the following clauses:
        (i) the party aggrieved may recover the actual damages suffered 
    by him as a result of the violation and any profits of the violator 
    that are attributable to the violation which are not taken into 
    account in computing the actual damages; in determining the 
    violator's profits, the party aggrieved shall be required to prove 
    only the violator's gross revenue, and the violator shall be 
    required to prove his deductible expenses and the elements of profit 
    attributable to factors other than the violation; or
        (ii) the party aggrieved may recover an award of statutory 
    damages for all violations involved in the action, in a sum of not 
    less than $250 or more than $10,000 as the court considers just.

    (B) In any case in which the court finds that the violation was 
committed willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private 
financial gain, the court in its discretion may increase the award of 
damages, whether actual or statutory under subparagraph (A), by an 
amount of not more than $50,000.
    (C) In any case where the court finds that the violator was not 
aware and had no reason to believe that his acts constituted a violation 
of this section, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of 
damages to a sum of not less than $100.
    (D) Nothing in this subchapter shall prevent any State or 
franchising authority from enacting or enforcing laws, consistent with 
this section, regarding the unauthorized interception or reception of 
any cable service or other communications service.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, Sec. 633, as added Pub. L. 98-549, 
Sec. 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2796; amended Pub. L. 102-385, Sec. 21, 
Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1498.)


                               Amendments

    1992--Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 102-385, Sec. 21(1), substituted 
``$50,000'' for ``$25,000'', ``2 years'' for ``1 year'', ``$100,000'' 
for ``$50,000'', and ``5 years'' for ``2 years''.
    Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 102-385, Sec. 21(2), added par. (3).


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 102-385 effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, 
see section 28 of Pub. L. 102-385, set out as a note under section 325 
of this title.


                             Effective Date

    Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where 
otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98-549, set 
out as a note under section 521 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 18 section 2511.
