The US Solicitor General has advised against the Supreme Court hearing Cablevision’s remote storage digital video recording (RS-DVR) case, according to a report issued by sister publication CableFAX Daily.

That opinion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) would let stand the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruling last August that found Cablevision’s use of this technology not to infringe upon content companies’ copyrights. The case under appeal, Cable News Network, Inc. et al., vs. CSC Holdings, Inc., had shut down Cablevision’s limited deployment, which had begun in 2006.

Cablevision executives indicated last week their plans to re-start the RS-DVR service this summer.

According to CableFax Daily, the 22-page brief signed by Solicitor General Elena Kagan includes the following: "Network-based technologies for copying and replaying television programming raise potentially significant questions, but this case does not provide a suitable occasion for this court to address them."

In January 2009, the Supreme Court had asked for the Solicitor General to weigh in on whether to grant the petition for a writ of certiori in this case. According to attorneys Loni Sherwin and Anthony Lupo of Arent Fox, major league sports, music and motion picture companies and others had filed eight amicus curiae briefs on behalf of Cable News Network. None had been filed in support of Cablevision.

The Kagan brief recommends denying that writ, arguing that "The Second Circuit is the first appellate court to consider the copyright implications of network-based analogues to VCRs and set-top DVRs, and its decision does not conflict with any decision of this Court or another court of appeals."

The Supreme Court itself makes the final decision. This brief from DOJ is not binding, although the Court usually follows its lead.

The current issue of Communications Technology contains an analysis of the technical implications of RS-DVR. (For more click here.) Yesterday the magazine hosted a pay-per-view webcast on the topic with the article’s author, Time Warner Cable Chief Architect, Video Systems, Glen Hardin and two subject matter experts. (For more on the webcast, click here.)

– Jonathan Tombes

The Daily

Subscribe
Friday–December 13

FCC Launches Update to Broadband Health Map

The FCC updated its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform Friday to include new variables to better examine maternal health. Now, the platform allows users to visualize and survey

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Apr 16
Cablefax 100 Awards Nominations Open November 13th, 2024.
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB or hiring for one?
VIEW JOBS

In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors. The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Carley Ashley, [email protected], for more information about posting a job on the website and our Jobs newsletter, sent twice weekly to 85,000 media professionals.