HDTV post at etown (1 Viewer)

[Wade L]

Take a look at this article:
http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessionid$H1OHSLYAABGNNTYPVYXSFEQ?articleID=3944
Didn't the Sony vs. Betamax case set a precedent stating that copying for one's own use is legal?
Wade

 

[Thomas Newton]

Yes, the Betamax case established clearly that timeshifting broadcast TV was legal Fair Use, even without the authorization of the copyright owner.
The finding that there was a significant legitimate use for the VCR in turn led to the ruling that the studios could not use copyright law as an excuse to ban/control VCRs.
The Court didn't need to rule on other recording scenarios in order to arrive at the conclusion that the studios had no right to block the VCR. However, the Court laid down the rule that (unauthorized) noncommercial use is presumed to be legal Fair Use, in contrast to (unauthorized) commercial use, which is presumed to constitute infringement. This in turn has led to other findings, such as the Rio court's rejection of the record industry's claim that CD-R burning done on a SCMS-exempt computer CD-R drive is automatically illegal. The Rio court made it clear that Fair Use rights apply to all devices, not just those covered by SCMS.