Copyright Group Files Brief In Cablevision Case
A trade group representing NBC, News Corp., Time Warner, and other copyright industry interests urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review a lower court's decision that they believe threatens to upend the market for creative works and undermine years of legal precedent. The Copyright Alliance's friend-of-the-court brief in Cartoon Network v. CSC Holdings is the first such paperwork ever filed by the group, which was "impelled to do so in this case because the decision below could be so detrimental to the health of our copyright system."
The case was originally brought by several audio-visual content creators against Cablevision, which has developed a service used to make numerous copies of copyrighted programming and re-transmit them to customers without licensing that delivery from copyright owners. A lower court found the service to be a violation of copyright law but an appeals court overturned that decision. The alliance brief argues that even though the case arose in the context of reproduction and public performance of audio-visual works by a cable systems operator, "its potential impact across copyright industries is much broader."
The appeals court's ruling "suggests one can circumvent copyright law by implementing an absurdly complex and woefully inefficient delivery system that would have made the late Rube Goldberg proud," alliance executive director Patrick Ross said. "If this decision stands, it could cause harm across the copyright industries. It runs counter to the very heart of copyright as an incentive system that has made America’s creative works the most vibrant and sought after in the world." The court could decide whether to hear the case between now and June.
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