20th Anniversary of Home Taping Decision

[FredThompson]

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/01/17/1853221.shtml?tid=123&tid=188&tid=99

[tytyty]

I came very close to posting that myself.

It's the reason we can even legaly own a pvr, a very important event in consumer rights.

Thank you Sony for not backing down.

[FredThompson]

It's also the reason there are so many choices. Without this ability, people would be forced to watch only when shows are broadcast. Since the extreme vast majority of people are not the idle rich, we have lives to live.

[Will]

I came very close to posting that myself.

It's the reason we can even legaly own a pvr, a very important event in consumer rights.

You're right. But it's also true that the original court decision was key, and I would say both these decisions confirmed existing rights rather than creating new ones.

Twenty years from now it'll be interesting to see how DMCA is viewed.

[tytyty]

It's also the reason there are so many choices. Without this ability, people would be forced to watch only when shows are broadcast. Since the extreme vast majority of people are not the idle rich, we have lives to live.

It also forced the networks into providing more programming to compete with previously recorded entertainment.