As the RS-DVR World Turns

Another party has chimed in on the debate centering on Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC)'s controversial Remote Storage-Digital Video Recorder (RS-DVR) but this one does not fall in the MSO's favor.

On Thursday, Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) filed comments (PDF) with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asking the court to affirm an earlier ruling that found the RS-DVR breached programmer copyrights. (See Inside Cablevision's 'RS-DVR' , Cablevision to Try, Try Again, and Net DVR Still Appealing for Cablevision.)

In addition to directing infringement liability directly on Cablevision, the PFF argues that the lower court decision does not suppress technology, but "affirms the need for distributors and creators alike to come to the bargaining table in support of markets," according to PFF Senior Adjunct Fellow Solveig Singleton, who filed the comments.

The situation was just the opposite last month, when a group including the United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) , the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) , and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a brief supporting the MSO's appeal. (See Unlikely Allies.)

An analysis by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc. also issued a warning that a "strict interpretation" of the original ruling on the RS-DVR could imperil the legality of all set-top-based DVRs supplied by service operators. (See Outlawing the DVR? )

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News