You bring up a very good point. Any time the function of any device is purposely crippled (relative to consumer expectations) for the purpose of copy protection the manufacturer should be required to give full disclosure up front.
Submarine stealth copy protection lurking in the background like the recent Windows Vista issue should not be allowed. Likewise, if there are other issues in Vista or other (hardware or software) products where some rights holder may turn off functions this should be disclosed before sale. Vendors must realize that when they take functions and rights from consumers and give those choice to others there may be some liability.
- Tom Albert Manfredi wrote:
Tom Barry wrote:However if the media can be legally accessed then there is currently nothing that says it may not also be legally time shifted. Nobody is required to give you the means to do so but they also may not currently use the law to stop you if you are able to do it yourself in that situation.I would go further, though. I'd say that any product that is sold as a TV recording device has to be able to operate as the public has come to expect. Which is very much in line with the Supreme Court views in the Betamax decision and also mentioned in more than one FCC ruling. I can see people claiming that nowhere do the courts force CE manufacturers to build recording devices that meet my definition. Fine, but then don't sell them without explicitly marking them as crippled. Furthermore, FOTA broadcasters who transmit "copy never," knowing full well that at least SOME recorders out there will be prevented from copying, are clearly being non-conformant to that court decision. I can't think of any interpretation, obtuse as many of these can be, that would deny my point. Bert _________________________________________________________________ Enter the Zune-A-Day Giveaway for your chance to win — day after day after dayhttp://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/ZuneADay/?locale=en-US&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_Mobile_Zune_V1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.
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