[crazygringo]

> It is not unreasonable for theft of property to carry the possibility of criminal charges.

There is no theft. In the digital world there's merely copying, but in this case it was just tuning into an existing signal with a wire.

Theft of property would require that you broke into HBO's office and stole the master tapes, for example.

[erosenbe0]

Yes, thanks, as to copyright you are correct. I believe unless chattel is involved, it is called unauthorized reproduction and duplication rather than theft.

As to the telecom aspect, it can go either way. In Canada, it is considered theft to use a telecommunications service without the rights to do so. Under USA federal criminal law, I believe it is just referred to as unauthorized reception.