In a 5-4 opinion delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Court held that “[t]he sale of the VTR’s to the general public does not constitute contributory infringement of [Universal’s] copyrights.” The Court concluded that there was a significant likelihood that a substantial number of copyright holders who license …

To address the comments about copying or backing up a DVD or BluRay or even VHS, this is also going to be illegal (in the US and other IP treaty-abiding countries) because in order to do so, you must circumvent the copy protection that is almost without a doubt incorporated on the physical product.

The Court also ruled that the manufacturers of home video recording devices, such as Betamax or other VCRs (referred to as VTRs in the case), cannot be liable for infringement. The case was a boon to the home video market, as it created a legal safe haven for the technology.

* Universal City Studios and Walt Disney Productions sought monetary damages and an injunction against production of Sony Betamax VCRs. * The US Supreme Court ruled that time shifting television programs is fair use of copyrighted materials.

Which of the following are the two main arguments against the Communications Decency Act accepted by the courts? It was too vague and broad, and it did not use the least restrictive means accomplishing the goal of protecting children.

What is the name of the broad SCOTUS decision that was used as the establishment of a general test for determining whether a device with copying or recording capabilities ran afoul of copyright law? The case they are referring to is the “Betamax Case” also known as Sony Corp of America vs Universal City Studios.

Under the doctrine of “fair use,” the law allows the use of portions of copyrighted work without permission from the owner. Fair use is a defense to copyright infringement. This means that an unauthorized use of copyrighted material is excusable if it falls under the principle of fair use.

This is the biggest downfall of Betamax. Yes, they had a superior product over VHS, however, because design engineers were not willing to sacrifice qualify for quantity, they failed. Sony also released different versions of Betamax in various countries, with Japan being their first and most sought after market.

May 1790

Late last night, Congress passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the CASE Act) and a law on penalties for certain digital transmission services that make unauthorized uses of copyright-protected works for profit, both as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

President George Washington

The British Statute of Anne 1710, full title “An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned”, was the first copyright statute.

The purpose of copyright law is to promote the progress of useful arts and science by protecting the exclusive right of authors and inventors to benefit from their works of authorship. Copyright law protects literary, musical, graphic, or other artistic forms in which an author expresses intellectual concepts.

One of the main types of intellectual property, copyright is automatically applied to any work that is an original creation and not a duplication. It is important to note that copyright protects the way an idea is presented, rather than an idea itself; for instance if it is committed to paper or other piece of media.

1992: Amendment to Section 304 of Title 17. Congress amended Section 304 of Title 17 making copyright renewal automatic. The amendment dramatically curtailed the entry into the public domain of works protected by copyright before 1978.

70 years

Facts are considered to be in the public domain. They are not protectible under copyright law. Copyright protection does not extend to news events or the facts or ideas which are the subject of news reports. …