We talked recently about Cablevision plans to roll out their new DVR service. The response of Hollywood was the usual lawsuit to attempt to stop the service saying that it is breaking their copyright.
Cablevision has now filed a counter-suit, saying that their offering is proctected by a ruling years ago in the Sony Betamx video case. This was 30 years ago when Walt Disney and Universal sued Sony over the introduction of the first recording device, which, after many years became irrelevant as VHS became the standard used. This was in spite of Sony eventually winning the case.
Cablevision is claiming that the service they are offering is the same as using a VCR or home video recorder. The studios are griping about the fact that instead of the device being in a home, it will be stored with Cablevision outside the home.
What difference does it make? None really. But Hollywood is attempting to make it seem different.
It is interesting that the technology created years ago, is what Hollywood depends upon now, and they had no input into the process. Why they don't look back at recent history and learn that this eventually helps them far above any possible short-term adjustment. They don't seem to get it even after all these years.
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