Scott Granneman wrote:
hot damn!
scott
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=1&u=/nm/20050506/ tc_nm/media_broadcastflag_dc
US appeals court tosses FCC's broadcast flag rule
A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a Federal Communications Commission rule designed to limit people from sending copies of digital television programs over the Internet.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the FCC had "exceeded the scope of its delegated authority" with the 2003 rule, which would have required TV set manufacturers to start using new technology by July 1.
"We can find nothing in the statute, its legislative history, the applicable case law, or agency practice indicating that Congress meant to provide the sweeping authority the FCC now claims over receiver apparatus," the three-judge appeals court panel said in its opinion.
FCC officials have said copyright protections were needed to help speed the adoption of digital television, which offers higher quality signals.
The music industry has been plagued by consumers copying and sharing songs for free over the Internet, violating copyright laws. Hollywood wants to prevent similar problems with its shows.
A spokeswoman for the FCC had no immediate comment on the ruling.
The new rule, known as the "broadcast flag," was challenged in court by the American Library Association and other consumer groups. The regulation was backed by the Motion Picture Association of America.
Under the FCC rule, programers can attach a code, or flag, to digital broadcasts that would, in most cases, bar consumers from sending unauthorized copies over the Web.
The rule requires manufacturers of television sets that receive digital over-the-air broadcast signals to produce sets that can read the digital code.
But opponents say the rule could raise prices to consumers and would set a bad precedent by allowing broadcasters to dictate how computers and other devices should be built.
-- Jerry Hubbard [EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________ CWE-LUG mailing list [email protected] http://www.cwelug.org/ http://www.cwelug.org/archives/ http://www.cwelug.org/mailinglist/
