Word: betamax
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...easy to see why the studios could fear the new faugled machines. With a Betamax, a devoted fan of Leave It to Beaver could easily tape all of the shows now running in syndication and never have any incentive to keep on watching the reruns. No repeat viewing on I.V.-means no lucrative residuals for the studio and occasionally, for the actors...
Stephen A. Kroft, the lawyer representing Disney and Universal, claimed that Sony effectively "contributed" to copyright infringement since the Betamax could be used for unfair use. Under the fair-use doctrine certain forms of reproduction of copyright material are acceptable--as Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 says: "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research...
...content merely to suppose that individual Betamax users violate copyright when "time-shifting" certain shows. Kroft went still farther, calling for compensation from Sony and even a ban on Betamax use and sales. Closely questioning Kroft on this logic. Chief Justice Warren Burger asked if photocopying manufacturers would similarly be liable say "if Xerox or another maker advertises that this is a good way to copy books?" Said Kroft: "I would say that a seller of photocopying machines would be liable." In fact, under further questioning Kroft even suggested there would be copyright infringement even if Xerox...
...surely both one's tongue, one's Bic, and one's Betamax can all be used for some fair use--even if only for making home video productions of Junior's Bar Mitzvah. To ask for an injunction banning Betamaxes because the have the potential for abuse seemingly deviates little from the mythical feudal prince who rips out his subjects' tongues. If we cannot ban handguns even with their great and proven potential for abuse, then how absurd to ban VCR's solely for their potential for abuse...
...very least, the reproduction used by teachers and scholars may be useful for showing examples of television shows in a television criticism class for scholarship, teaching or research as defined by the copyright act itself. Whatever the original fears of Disney and Universal over the uses of Betamax, the remaining 90 percent or more of the industry has yet to express any legal challenge...