by Thinus Ferreira
A Cape Town man, Jordan Lee Mott has been sentenced to 7 years jail time for copyright infringement and other crimes after he was found guilty of illegally selling hacked Android TV boxes enabling pirate viewing of MultiChoice's premium DStv pay-TV content.
MultiChoice and Irdeto welcomed the conviction of Jordan Lee Mott in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Court. Piracy of content and pirate viewing is a fast-growing problem in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.
Jordan Lee Mott was arrested in October 2020 for selling hacked Android TV boxes with access to MultiChoice's premium DStv content which is copyright-protected.
Jordan Lee Mott was charged with 7 counts of contravening Section 45 of the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act.
Jordan Lee Mott was found guilty on all 7 counts and sentenced to 7 years in jail, which was suspended for a period of 5 years on condition that the accused is not convicted again for contravening Section 45 of Act 70 of 2002.
Jordan Lee Mott was also ordered to pay R60 000 to the Criminal Asset Recovery Account.
MultiChoice in a statement welcomed the conviction and says more needs to be done to combat content piracy.
"Although the decision by the court is welcomed, there is more that needs to be done in terms of minimising the negative impact of piracy on content creation and the economy. It is important that we work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that perpetrators of piracy face the might of the law."
"As piracy and cybercrime rapidly increase, it is important for us to remain vigilant and agile and ensure that perpetrators of digital crimes are brought to book. The conviction of the accused should be a warning to other perpetrators who are driving this illegal economy."
"Illegally sharing content leads to severe revenue losses and cripple economies, which means reduced investment and job losses affecting economic development," MultiChoice says.
The Randburg-based pay-TV operator is now also working with Partners Against Piracy to combat content piracy in Africa.
