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 ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]