The National Copyright Office (ONDA) seized equipment belonging to three cable-TV operators in Santiago last night. The companies were operating without the authorization of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL) and were violating copyrights. El Caribe reports that Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito had warned companies that are broadcasting signals illegally that authorities would do everything possible to guarantee copyrights to their legal owners. ONDA Director Marino Feliz Terrero said that Hedem equipment used for cable retransmission as well as an undetermined number of signal decoding cards were seized in the three companies closed. The AG stated that the government is responsible for guaranteeing respect for copyrights, intellectual property and judicial security of the owners of broadcasting stations that do comply with ONDA and INDOTEL’s legal specifications. ONDA director said that companies that fail to comply with copyright law would be closed down and their owners prosecuted.