Posted by Citizen Bob on 10/25/06 12:11

On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:11:22 GMT, jayembee
<jayembeenospam@snurcher.com> wrote:

>Other than the part that it involved VCRs, none of what you just said
>is true.

>(1) Sony was the *defendant* in the lawsuit. Sony *made* the VCRs, and
>gave them the ability to record. It was the major studios, lead by
>Universal and Disney, that sued Sony, claiming that recordable VCRs
>allowed the violation of copyright.

>(2) Congress didn't say anything, let alone "Fuck off and die." The
>decision that Sony was not liable for damages if people use their
>VCRs to violate copyright was made by the Supreme Court, not Congress.

>(3) The decision really said very little about whether VCRs violated
>copyright or not. In fact, the decision actually *does* acknowledge
>that they can do so, but it also says that a consumer's right to time
>shift programs by taping them and watching at a later date outweighed
>any possible copyright violation that might be done with them. And
>most of all, the decision was really that even if copyrights were
>violated by the use of the VCR, Sony was not liable. Analogous to,
>say, a chainsaw manufacturer not being liable if someone uses their
>chainsaw to kill their next door neighbor.

Thank you for that clarification. It's been a long time since that
case and obviously I have forgotten the crucial details.

>Fair enough. But you asked if you see that particular episode on DVD,
>and I answered "not legally". You then asked why not, and I told you.
>Whether you think it *should* be legal is irrelevant.

It is illegal like copying VHS tapes is illegal.




--

"Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverence. Talent
will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education
will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and
determination alone are omnipotent."
--Calvin Coolidge

[Back to original message]