As we reported last week, the movie and television studios commenced federal litigation in Los Angeles against SonicBlue to prohibit or curtail its ReplayTV digital video recording technology. There is now a lawsuit asserting consumers’ rights to use the technology. The latest lawsuit was brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of a handful of ReplayTV customers who want the court to declare that ReplayTV owners have the right to digitally record television programs, fast-forward through commercials, and send shows to other devices.
The customers’ complaint [pdf format], filed June 6, 2002 in federal district court in Los Angeles, names the 28 entertainment studios suing SonicBlue as defendants in their lawsuit and asks that plaintiffs’ activity be ruled lawful fair use under copyright law. "The studios are using their copyrights as an excuse to control what individuals do with their own property in the privacy of their own homes," said EFF Intellectual Property Attorney Robin Gross. "Rather than encourage innovation and provide customers with an experience worthy of attention, Hollywood intends to outlaw a new and promising technology," commented EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "It’s just as alarming as the Betamax case of the 1980s when Hollywood tried to ban VCRs."
Ira Rothken, attorney for the five plaintiffs, said he hopes to consolidate the new lawsuit with the studios' case against SonicBlue. The SonicBlue case is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in late summer, but Rothken would like the trial to be delayed if the cases are consolidated.
Why This Matters: This new lawsuit, if consolidated with the SonicBlue case, will ask the court to take into account the interests and fair use rights of ReplayTV users when deciding whether or not to find that ReplayTV technology violates the studios’ copyrights. It may also force the studios and their lawyers to contend with an unfavorable media barrage, courtesy of the EFF. For the advertising industry, there is a great deal at stake in this case. If SonicBlue’s technology is permitted free reign in the marketplace, the underlying integrity of measuring the reach of broadcast advertising is seriously damaged and the entire economic model under which programs are financed by advertising revenue is at risk. This case is one to watch very closely.
This article originally appeared in ADLAW By Request, a publication of Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood LLP.
The content of this article does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on in that way. Specific advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.