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May 2005, Week 1

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Subject:
From:
Jeremy Butler <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 7 May 2005 06:51:04 -0500
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In a surprising victory for advocates of (US) fair use of television 
programs, a federal appeals court has struck down the so-called 
"broadcast flag" mandated by the FCC as a method for preventing the 
copying of TV material.

C|NET reports:

Bottom line:
The ruling is a big setback for Hollywood studios, which sought to limit 
unauthorized Internet redistribution of over-the-air TV broadcasts. But 
it's a reprieve for makers of HDTV sets, PC tuner cards, and USB and 
Firewire tuners.

http://news.com.com/Court+says+FCCs+broadcast+flag+is+toast/2100-1030_3-5697719.html

Moreover, back in February, the court chastized the FCC for overstepping 
its bounds:

"You're out there in the whole world, regulating. Are washing machines 
next?" asked Judge Harry Edwards. Quipped Judge David Sentelle: "You 
can't regulate washing machines. You can't rule the world."

For more discussion/links about the ruling, see the Slashdot coverage of it:

FCC Broadcast Flag Struck Down
Posted by Zonk on Friday May 06, @11:55AM
from the system-works-sometimes dept.

An anonymous reader writes "CNet is reporting that the courts have 
struck down the FCC's broadcast flag requirement! 'In a stunning victory 
for hardware makers and television buffs, a federal appeals court has 
tossed out government rules that would have outlawed many digital TV 
receivers and tuner cards starting July 1.'" The Electronic Frontier 
Foundation has details on the flag <http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/>, 
the official ruling is online for examination, and commentary is 
available from BoingBoing 
<http://www.boingboing.net/2005/05/06/vtv_day_we_won_the_b.html> and Ars 
Technica <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050506-4882.html>.

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/06/1628251


-- 
Jeremy Butler
www.ScreenSite.org
www.TVCrit.org


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