SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS RULES CABLEVISION'S DVR SYSTEM DOES NOT INFRINGE ON COPYRIGHT PROTECTIONS OF MOVIE STUDIOS AND TELEVISION PRODUCERS

On August 4, 2008, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, reversed a federal district court's 2007 ruling, which held that Cablevision's DVR system constituted an illegal rebroadcast of copyrighted content owned by television and movie production companies. (Second Circuit Cablevision Opinion).

As Cablevision Chief Operating Officer Tom Rutledge suggests, this is a hugely-important ruling for Cablevision's DVR service and other prodigy services, "It couldn't be a bigger or more complete win... all aspects of the case were decided our way," Rutledge said to USAToday.

Cablevision's exuberance, however, may be short-lived. The ruling will almost certainly be appealed. In addition, many observers believe the Second Circuit Court of Appeals got this one wrong.

Central to the controversy is the "ad skipping" ability of the DVR system, which, of course, undermines a central principle of viability for Hollywood studios and TV networks.

Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting is leading the charge for Hollywood studios and TV networks. Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting will now need to re-tool its strategy, in its attempt to shut-down the growing use of DVR systems in America's TV-savvy homes.

Here is USAToday's article referenced above (Cablevision wins in ruling on remote-storage DVR), and an opinion on the decision from the LATimes blog (The Cablevision DVR ruling | Bit Player | Los Angeles Times).