“Days after the Supreme Court weighed in on digital copyright infringement issues in the MGM v. Grokster case, select consumer electronics chains began stocking a product some predict could spark the entertainment industry’s next showdown over intellectual property rights.” TV technology at edge of legal frontier
Grokster made it clear that selling a device that has the stated purpose of infringement isn’t okay. However, there was no mention of “space-shifting” or “place-shifting.” Perhaps this means that the current law allows the newest in entertainment technology, as long as the marketing is done correctly.
For years, we’ve been setting a device to record our favorite programs while we aren’t home (time-shifting). First with the VCR, and later with DVRs. However, we’ve been waiting for the ability to view programs remotely (space -shifting).
Every time I’ve spent the night in a hotel, I’ve missed my DVR. I can’t stand flipping through the channels, hoping to find something interesting when I know that I’ve got great programming waiting for me at home. Or even worse, missing a program and hearing the outcome the next day before I get a chance to view it. With the newest in TV technology, you can view your recorded programs before you get home.
From the article: 
“New to the shelves of Best Buy and CompUSA this month is Slingbox, a brick-sized device that enables viewers to route the live television signal coming into their homes to a portable device anywhere on the globe via broadband connection.”
The ability to “space-shift” seems a natural extension of the “time-shift” of Sony. As long as the companies market the use I’ve described, space-shifting may be viable. As for the entertainment industry, I recommend they “sell” programs to people who forgot to record them (or who don’t subscribe to the channel of the program).
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Posted by Douglas Sorocco, July 6, 2005 at 11:08 am
Permalink: TV Technology – The Next Great Copyright Case?
2 Comments
What do you think will be the greatest copyright concerns here? Possibly the retransmission itself, or the content of the material be redistributed, or the capability of piracy? Are there any other possible issues that I’ve overlooked? The legality of these such media products fascinates me!
Don’t you think the Slingbox will raise issues of copyright infringement or at the very least, should Sling Media be forced to comport with compulsory licensing for the retransimission of the cable broadcasts? Also, what about the concerns of content, i.e., NFL and Tivo, NFL and MPAA are bound to have more concerns about the content of the retransmissions because of the nature of their programming.