Interviews with Digital Media Thought Leaders

Will Copyrights Restrict Media Use Over Home Networks?

Podcast Audio | Posted by Phil Leigh on July 13, 2007

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As we get more familiar with home networking we’re likely to start buying appliances that will display Digital Media stored on our computers in other rooms of the house. As consumers, we are likely to regard such uses as entirely legitimate and consistent with the personal use application under the Fair Use exemption of the Copyright Act.
 
But, as Will Rogers put it, “If I don’t see things your way, why should I?” In short, broadcasters and content rights holders may consider that the distribution of media across home networks is not an implicit right of the acquired media. Our guest today is an intellectual property attorney who discusses how this issue came up at last month’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting.

Last month talks of updating the WIPO treaty failed to result in a new agreement.  The treaty fell victim to disagreements over issues such as whether protection against piracy should cover only traditional broadcast methods – meaning cable, antenna, and satellite signals – or whether it should include retransmission over the Internet or LANs, like home networks.
 
European countries wanted to give broadcasters rights over any content they merely transmit – even if they did not originally produce it. To illustrate, such a right would mean that a broadcaster of “Lost” could sue a consumer who posted the program to YouTube even though that same consumer could also be sued by the creator of the program. It appears that the broadcaster wants to monopolize distribution and it is not clear whether the requested provision would apply to home networks as well as the Internet.
  
Subject: Our guest today is Jim Burger who is an attorney with Dow, Lohnes in Washington, D.C.  He discusses the issues that caused the failure of recent WIPO meetings to come to a new treaty on intellectual property.
 
Length: This audio interview is about 16 minutes long.

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8 Comments so far
  1. Chris Smith August 3, 2007 12:04 pm

    To state what is redundantly obvious here…

    What I do with my media, on my network, in my home, is my business. No one has the right to tell me what I can and can not do in the sanctity and privacy of my home.

    There’s something wrong when laws are written to make someone rich. This was never the intent of the justice system that our founding fathers established.

  2. Jon Grimm August 3, 2007 1:36 pm

    Politics = Money and Power
    If Money and Power are something you don’t have then you’re
    going to watch those who have it set politics the way they
    like. Would you even feel bad if some other country decided
    to ‘liberate’ us from rich corrupt politicians?

  3. […] This one is causing a ruckus this afternoon, what if it was illegal to share content from your PC in your living room to your TV in your bedroom. While that sounds ludicrous, this might not be as far fetched as it sounds. Check out the Pod cast over here at Inside digital media, and think about this one for a minute or three. As we get more familiar with home networking we’re likely to start buying appliances that will display Digital Media stored on our computers in other rooms of the house. As consumers, we are likely to regard such uses as entirely legitimate and consistent with the personal use application under the Fair Use exemption of the Copyright Act. But, as Will Rogers put it, “If I don’t see things your way, why should I?” In short, broadcasters and content rights holders may consider that the distribution of media across home networks is not an implicit right of the acquired media. Source: inside digital media […]

  4. Steve August 3, 2007 2:59 pm

    If I have media on my PERSONAL home network that I purchased with my hard earned cash I’m going to stream it on my PERSONAL devices if I good and damned well want to.

    I already paid for it and it’s for personal use only, I’ll be damned if I’m going to let some bottom feeding lawyer tell me what to do with the content that I purchased legally. As long as I’m not sharing or streaming outside my personal network I don’t see the problem.

    Bloody boneheads

  5. Evans August 3, 2007 3:15 pm

    Have a blast trying to stay ahead of the hackers.

  6. Tube Stake August 3, 2007 3:20 pm

    This is an extreme argument, a polemic that will become part of the discussion resulting in regulatory compromise. Of course the notion of “sharing” with yourself over your own networked devices is ludicrous. What broadcasters and copyright owners really want is to maximize their opportunity to profit and, if possible, sue anyone who appears to infringe upon their “right” to do so. However, if allowed the opportunity, every electronic device on the planet would be under the scrutiny/control of the Ownership Society/New World Order, so make as much noise as you can before any vestige of Fair Use is stricken from the public record and the King is allowed to license all the presses once again.

    - Beware: Every Digital Device conceals a Business Model –

  7. Unknown August 3, 2007 8:31 pm

    Someone better watch his ass, cause hes going to wake up dead one day over this.

  8. […] [Via Inside Digital Media] […]