The Legality of Card Sharing

[Pedrosky]

I have been reading with interest about card sharing on various websites and understand that it is a taboo subject as it is clearly an illegal activity.

However I wondered exactly what part of it is illegal? Would the charge against an end user be:

1/ Receiving stolen goods i.e. the decryption code. As you seem you seem to be buying a code that enables decoding of the encrypted data from someone who has bought it legitimately then is not the only offence being committed is that of the person who is re-selling it against the contractual requirements of the original seller. If it is an offence then is it civil or criminal?

2/ Stealing programming. Surely you are not stealing the programming? It would have to be proven that you have actually taken something and would not that be difficult?

3/ Are you indirectly stealing data because the card sharing companies are clever enough to crack the code? But after all the data is free to air much like air is free to breathe nobody owns the air in which the data is placed so I cannot see how you can steal something that many devices can receive as raw data.

4/ Perhaps it is copyright infringement but if so how does that work and how is it proven...a dawn raid while you are watching or recording some program that is from a pay channel?

It seems to me that to sell the encryption ***8216;words***8217; on as the card sharing websites do is an infringement of the contract they have when they obtain legitimate cards from a media supplier but the end user does not enter any contract so would not any prosecution be limited to the seller alone and would it be a civil action?

I guess this subject needs a legal perspective and as I am not a lawyer I wondered if anyone has a legal answer or perspective to this.

[Kalipo]

Please change the colour of your text to white..

[lagerland]

. Thats better...............

I have been reading with interest about card sharing on various websites and understand that it is a taboo subject as it is clearly an illegal activity.

However I wondered exactly what part of it is illegal? Would the charge against an end user be:

1/ Receiving stolen goods i.e. the decryption code. As you seem you seem to be buying a code that enables decoding of the encrypted data from someone who has bought it legitimately then is not the only offence being committed is that of the person who is re-selling it against the contractual requirements of the original seller. If it is an offence then is it civil or criminal?

2/ Stealing programming. Surely you are not stealing the programming? It would have to be proven that you have actually taken something and would not that be difficult?

3/ Are you indirectly stealing data because the card sharing companies are clever enough to crack the code? But after all the data is free to air much like air is free to breathe nobody owns the air in which the data is placed so I cannot see how you can steal something that many devices can receive as raw data.

4/ Perhaps it is copyright infringement but if so how does that work and how is it proven...a dawn raid while you are watching or recording some program that is from a pay channel?

It seems to me that to sell the encryption ***8216;words***8217; on as the card sharing websites do is an infringement of the contract they have when they obtain legitimate cards from a media supplier but the end user does not enter any contract so would not any prosecution be limited to the seller alone and would it be a civil action?

I guess this subject needs a legal perspective and as I am not a lawyer I wondered if anyone has a legal answer or perspective to this.

[garry1312]

I think it will fall under the same laws and regulations as piracy.

[Pedrosky]

laws and regulations as Piracy !! Is that a serious reply ?

and just what might they be ?

so the worst that you walk the plank and just who is deemed to be the pirate?

[ChelseaBun]

just who is deemed to be the pirate?

the one with the eye patch who deals in gold doubloons

[Meat-Head]

WHOA WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT CARD SHARING HERE ON DK.

IF YOU INSISIT ON CARD SHRING TALK, THEN YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS

PAY PER SEND Clinton Cards - For All Your Personalised Card And Gift Needs

OR FREE ecards, free online ecards, free e cards, birthday ecard

[Pedrosky]

WHOA WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT CARD SHARING HERE ON DK.

IF YOU INSISIT ON CARD SHRING TALK, THEN YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS

PAY PER SEND Clinton Cards - For All Your Personalised Card And Gift Needs

OR FREE ecards, free online ecards, free e cards, birthday ecard

It says you can talk about anything in General Chat.

I am simply asking questions about card sharing and it's legal implications so I am neither encouraging or discouraging just discussing, or is this forum frightened of something ? If it is totally illegal as it seems to be then this thread may be a positive in discouraging members from doing it.

[firestorm]

Quick answer its classed as fraud
And this forum as rules and that is a rule, there are very good reasons why its not allowed.We all like this forum and we would not wish it to shut or it to have very expensive legal bill so that is why we have rules.There are plenty of sites that will allow card sharing but they are not UK based if you google card sharing you will find them.
So please respect the owners of this sites rules .

[Pedrosky]

Piracy now Fraud .....I am begining to doubt anyone has a real answer they can support with legal precedents .

Are there no legal brains out there with more substansive answers, hey I could guess !!!

[barrowmanandrew]

The Legality of Card Sharing
it is against the law,

which makes it "illegal"

[Meat-Head]

Piracy now Fraud .....I am begining to doubt anyone has a real answer they can support with legal precedents .

Are there no legal brains out there with more substansive answers, hey I could guess !!!

Look, you tax your car, then you photocopy your new tax disc 20 times- with your serial number, and you give/sell them to your friends, next thing you know, they get their door kicked in for untaxed vechile, do you expect your front door to get kicked in?

If so why?

If not, why not?

[flyingpig]

The Legality of Card Sharing
it is against the law,

which makes it "illegal"

It isn't against the law. That is the thing. Re-Selling your subscription is illegal and has been tried and tested in the courts and there is case law behind this so that is 100% illegal. It depends what you class as sharing.

1 - Selling a service which you have no right to (payserver)
2 - Share for share - peer sharing
3 - Sharing in your own property / properties - sharing your own sub with yourself.

However, sharing your own subscirption with yourself - regardless of where you live or how many houses you own is not illegal, and I can say as such because there is no case law behind it. It has never been tried in the British courts so at the moment it is not illegal. That does not mean to say that a prosecution would not be successful. It just hasn't happened.

It is 100% against your 'terms of service' which is not breaking criminal law.

The points of law that this has not been tested on is when YOU subscribe, who actually subscribes. Is it YOU, is it the PROPERTY?

If it is YOU, you are allowed to take this sub / share with you where ever you go within this country - possibly continent. The service providers try to get around this by pairing cards to boxes to stop you taking your card to your second home, mates house, etc.

Anyone who says it is illegal really needs to consider the points of law that would make it illegal, and not generalise. There is no case law on this at all.

Sharing your subscription with another person may be illegal but this would be harder to defend in a court, but again there is no case law (as far as I am aware) on this.

All really interesting stuff.

[Rodbouy]

CS Is not illegal. What you get done for is when you get caught profiting from it.

If it cannot be proven money exchanged hands then you will not be charged with any crime, but you will have your card cancelled as you broke the company's T&Cs.

[Meat-Head]

It isn't against the law. That is the thing. Re-Selling your subscription is illegal and has been tried and tested in the courts and there is case law behind this so that is 100% illegal. It depends what you class as sharing.
.

AGAINST DK RULES:-

Yes or no, as against DK rules.

Can you legally 'give' you details to your 'friends/family'?