Legal Fixation

A Wrinkle in Time-Shifting

Time-shifting a television program is a fair use, that much we know. But does the legality of the activity depend upon where the program is stored? Yes, according to the TV and movie studios who are seeking an injunction against Cablevision for its proposed "network DVR" service. They argue that Cablevision's plan to store programs in a central facility, rather than on the customer's cable box, is not a fair use, but is rather an unauthorized recording, storage and retransmission of copyrighted programming. I'm having flashbacks to MP3.com's doomed "music locker" service.

posted by Matthew Saunders @ 8:46 AM