In an all but inevitable move, the Hollywood studios have sued Cablevision over its plans to offer a networked DVR service. The press reports aren’t very clear on exactly what the studios are contending, other than Cablevision’s service does not constitute “fair use” and that Cablevision hasn’t paid for a license to deliver programs stored on a central server.
The network DVR proposed by Cablevision would allow viewers to choose which programs they want to record. But instead of recording on a hard drive in the home, the cable company would record the shows on a central computer, then allow viewers to watch them later.
Studios say the law, under “fair use,” gives consumers the right to time shift. But it doesn’t give that right to companies that license the content only for simultaneous broadcast, meaning that to store the shows and offer them on demand for a fee, companies must obtain a separate license.
“Such conduct would constitute willful copyright infringement,” the lawsuit states.
The studios are asking the U.S. District Court in New York to issue a preliminary injunction that would bar Cablevision from offering the service. I’m not completely sure, but I think the outcome of this preliminary injunction request will be a major, if not the first, test of the Supreme Court’s Betamax decision as it applies to the range of new TV recording technologies that have evolved post-VCR.
Cynthia Brumfield at 6:58 AM|Comments(0)
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