The Brief Amicus Curiae Of Intellectual Property Scholars in Dish Network L.L.C., v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., Et. Al has just been filed. The case is on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Shubha Ghosh (U. Wisconsin Law School) wrote the brief and several IP academics signed it because we are concerned that
“ABC’s interpretation of copyright law would undermine longstanding fair use precedent. We urge the Court to reject ABC’s attempt to render Sony obsolete and re-litigate the public’s interest in making fair use copies with the aid of time-shifting technology.”
This case is significant because it will affect the future of private noncommercial time-shifting of television programs – a fair use right expressly recognized by the Supreme Court in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984). Our view, expressed in the brief is that the
“advancement of technology from the videotape recorder (“VTR”) to the videocassette recorder (“VCR”) considered in Sony, to today’s digital video recorder (“DVR”) and the technological enhancements of the DVR has not – nor should it – affect the scope of protection expressly recognized in Sony.”
Download the brief here: Paginated Brief Amicus Curiae of Intellectual Property Scholars filed 1_29_14 [D155]