Why YouTube Can Exist | Sony v. Universal
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In episode 28 of Supreme Court Briefs, Universal Studios, Disney, and other media corporations sue Sony for copyright infringement after Sony creates this device that can record stuff so that viewers can watch it later.
Check out cool primary sources here:
www.oyez.org/c...
Other sources used:
en.wikipedia.o...
www.theatlanti...
blog.legalsolut...
articles.latime...
en.wikipedia.o....
Photo credits:
Sound effect credits:
Punch sound effect by Mike Koenig
Sony develops a new technology called Betamax. It was the first video tape recording form made widely available for the public. People could use this technology to, for the first time ever, record stuff from live TV or even from other recordings for future use.
Now, eventually, Betamax would lose the of the late 1970s and early 1980s to its archenemy, the dreaded VHS. While Beta was a formidable opponent, VHS triumphed, until it eventually was defeated in another war to the great DVD.
Anyway, for the first couple years, before VHS entered the scene, Betamax was living the dream, the next big thing. But many corporations in the film and television industries did not like this new technology so much. Universal Studios, the Walt Disney Company and other TV and film corporations sued Sony’s American-based operations in California District Court for copyright infringement. These corporations argued that Sony’s customers were using the Betamax recording devices to record copyrighted programs so they could view them later. The nerve!
Two years later-man things can move slowly in court- the California District Court ruled in favor of Sony, arguing that recording for noncommercial home use fell under fair use guidelines, and that access to free public information was protected under the First Amendment under fair use. One major problem with fair use, however, is that it can be interpreted many ways, you know like the Bible, or the Constitution?
Universal Studios and the rest appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court, who in 1981 reversed the lower court’s decision, saying that yes, Sony was contributing to copyright infringement by selling these Betamax machines. They argued the main purpose of Betamax was copying, and even suggested damages to be paid to the TV and film corporations and further legal restrictions on Betamax and similar home recording technologies like VHS. By this time, though, both Beta and VHS were selling like crazy.
Sony of course appealed to the Supreme Court, who heard oral arguments on January 18, 1983. The Court really struggled with this one. And they’re weren’t divided politically, meaning this wasn’t your typical conservative/liberal divide. Perhaps they just had a hard time grasping the implications of this new technology.
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a dissenting opinion expecting the Court to rule against Sony and for Universal and the rest. However, he wrote the opinion as if it was a majority opinion. By sneakily doing this, he may have persuaded two justices, William Brennan and Byron White to come his way. On January 17, 1984, the Court finally announced its decision. It was 5-4, in favor of Sony.
The Court argued that many broadcast copyright holders didn’t care if their programming was copied for home use. The most famous example of this was Fred Rogers or Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood fame. Rogers testified at the district court and said he was cool with it, saying it actually helped his show be seen more.
![ผัวเถื่อน - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P08ORRVDGl8/mqdefault.jpg)
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...........And DVD's were defeated by the........... INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D
Thank God this case was decided the right way, the old era didn’t make much sense.
Definitely. I am a bit surprised it was so close. Although, if it was decided the other way, I'm sure it would have been overturned later.
If it were today, I would expect it to go the other way as shown by the laws relating to format-shifting.
Ye
I agree with the court as I believe you can record anything as long as it is for personal use.
KMTForChina That could explain those “Home Use Only” in the beginning of every movie you watch on DVD
One should grow anything as long as it is for personal use.
BINGO!!!!
Yeah, same here! As long as you’re not selling any of it, or making money off of it in any way, it should be legal
Lmao
Mr Rogers is a hero.
im still surprised that betamax lasted in till march 2016 O_O
the case kinda reminds me of game rentals in japan
People can just be way to nostalgic, I suppose. And yes, Mr. Rogers is a superhero.
Betamax was the superior format in spite of its shorter playing time. Beta also created almost ALL of the new features on video cassettes to be quickly followed by VHS. VHS won out because of longer playing time and cheaper machines. Ironically Sony ALSO developed the prototype for the VHS format and sold the rights to JVC.
@@swinde it's debatable if beta was actually superior. The channel Technology Connections has a great series on Beta vs VHS and one of the videos is a direct 1 to 1 comparison of the two formats
You are correct that it mostly came down to play time. VHS had a long enough record time to record a football game or most entire movies. That was super important when tape was used largely to time shift tv broadcasts so they could be viewed after work, rather than their later use (and their use I was more familiar with as a child) to mass produce and sell pre-recorded media. The new features Beta used were indeed copied by VHS, but what matters is that these new features weren't making Beta sell better because nobody wanted it because of the record time.
@@dstinnettmusic
There was one other "feature" of the Betamax recorders was these machines had no problems copying the copy protected tapes released on VHS. The reason is the way the Beta machines handled the sync signals.
beautiful display of: adapt or, well, ahem. Darwinism. Great vid man :D
haha thank you :)
Which Supreme Court case would you like to see me cover for this series?
Reynolds V. United States
Lawrence Vs Texas
The one regarding Involuntary Servitude and Military Draft
Barry vs ...
Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer. I dunno I kinda like this one.
Lawrence v. Texas or Lemon v. Kurtzman
Really dig these Supreme Court videos. Especially the ones dealing with civil liberties.
Great to hear!
Always brightens my day to see a new Supreme Court Briefs. Keep em' coming Mr Beat
Well thank you, and I love making them. I wish these series did as well as my other ones, though. :/
I think the Supreme Court made the correct ruking here recording of TV shows should be allowed for non commercial use
TH-cam still hasn't :(
@@ogorangeduck TH-cam pays their content providers, so it is commercial use and therefore doesn't fall under fair use unless it meets any of the other criteria like providing commentary, education, only short snippets, etc.
The MPAA would’ve destroyed their own business for being overprotective on copyright.
Not really. It's just that video recording functionality would've been removed from the technology, but you could still play a movie on home video that you bought legally. Some engineers would be able to re-engineer that technology back in (let's call it "homebrew"), but Sony and the home video industry itself would still be off the hook. Sony would then be free to take such pirates to court and have them shut down if they were then providing their "homebrew" services to others, and even if it was restricted to their own personal machines their warranties would still be voided.
I find it interesting that the two movie studios that sued Sony are the ones with major theme parks.
And Sony would later enter movie industry
I've been going through them left and right, keep it up dude, you're clear spoken and have a clever sense of humor, it's easy to listen while I am at work. Keep it up, or else.
That means a lot. These Supreme Court Briefs videos haven't been doing well lately, but comments like yours keep me going. :D
Wait a second, or else what??????
@@iammrbeat Huh.
Feels like one could use be used to argue why filesharing or "piracy" isn't theft.
Well, it depends on the purpose of the sharing and the environment. What drove this decision more than anything was that the Betamax was used primarily for home use, not public use.
An interesting "alternate history" would be if this had gone the other way.
Thanks Mr Beat. You are not a beta male, definitely alpha.
lol thanks. That might be why Betamax lost.
I feel like a SCOTUS case like this could emerge someday regarding people uploading concert clips, documentaries, and clips from sporting events on Facebook, TH-cam, and social media.
It's one thing to make sure someone isn't taking credit for something you wrote/made or uploading movie clips from a movie that is in theaters and not online or available on DVD. It's another thing when you don't want people uploading a song or TV show for your fans to enjoy. As mentioned with Mr. Rogers, you're allowing a product to gain more attention through fair use. I don't see anything wrong with people uploading clips from concerts they attended, documentaries, etc on places like Facebook and TH-cam or politicians playing songs from certain artists at political events.
People/companies are too tough at times regarding copyright. Learn to lighten up. If the TV and film companies could survive from people recording things off live TV, I feel like they can survive people uploading clips on social media. Technically, they are right now.
I wholeheartedly agree!
The conservative woman judge finally make a decision I agree with. Good for her. Sometimes the conservatives are for better liberty and more freedom for the people. Sometimes it's the left leaning people. We need both sides because they both are wrong 50% of the time but right the other 50% of the time. So at the end you want both sides to made sure the other side does not make extreme decisions.
Bush v Gore or the Nintendo one
there's a Nintendo one?
dugroz Nintendo vs Universal
That sounds like a good one!
dugroz what I wanna see that one!!!
There's a lot of old music videos on TH-cam.....
But some old music videos get yanked off TH-cam due to copyright.
So here's what happens....
The videos that ARE available on TH-cam are the ones I see (naturally)
And sometimes I get excited by these old videos and then I BUY albums from that band, either digitally or old fashioned DVD.
But if a band ends up with their videos pulled off TH-cam, then I never BUY any from them, cause I never see them!
Holding too tightly to a copyright hurts everyone.
President During this time: Ronald Reagan
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger
Argued January 18, 1983
Reargued October 3, 1983
Decided January 17, 1984
Case Duration: 364 Days
Decision: 5-4 in favor of Sony (Burger, Brennan Jr., White, O’Connor, Stevens. Marshall, Powell, Rehnquist, Blackmun for Universal.)
These videos have quite the editing
Wait, is that a compliment? lol
Mr. Beat of course
It's like suing gutenberg in 1436.
Amazing Mr.Beat
I love the idea after this case took years to resolve, them being like "well then let's have them pass a law!" Like that wouldn't take several more years
I usually just watch youtube for gaming and music related content but this channel is actually really interesting and fun to watch !
I love VHS!
Do you currently own a VCR?
I own 3 - one I already had, one I found on the curb and one I got from my friend. I should bust one of them to archive some tapes I found on the curb years ago...
Wow. I think we have one someone around the house.
I think it's worth digging out for a bit of VHS fun!
Hmm, I guess the difference with flash carts and offering digital ROMs for providing unauthorized copies of video games was that the video games companies were able to prove that such rampant piracy was indeed significantly hurting their sales.
You're awesome Mr. Beat :) keep it up please
Thanks Dylan :D
1:02
Which itself eventually lost to the great Online Streaming Platforms
Mos def
And oddly enough… this is the same case that lets you legally copy stuff right off youtube. If it’s transmitted to your house, you can record it.
This Reminds me of TH-cam vs. Viacom however that never went to the Supreme Court.
Harry Blackmun and William Rehnquist on the same side? Damn
This was amazing. Thank you so much, very helpful and entertaining!
I used my vhs recorder to record star wars the force awakens
Betamax's ability to copy could be used for piracy purposes, but it could also be used for other purposes within the law. That's why cars are widely used around the world despite causing a substantial number of deaths each year. The tool itself isn't the problem; it's how people abuse it to cause harm that's the real issue at hand.
Btw, the same thing can be said about guns, but I doubt anyone here would be fond of reading a pro-2nd amendment opinion due to the highly politicized and sensationalized nature of the topic... 🙄
I have heard it said that the reason VHS became the "standard" was because the porn industry used it the most - poorer quality but less money to produce. The next question is the 12" laser disc vs dvd industry
Beta or vhs? Nah, bro, laserdisc
If this video was done 20 years ago the title of this video would be why VHS recordings exist!
After watching a lot of episodes of this series I have a very mixed opinion of Justice John Paul Stevens
I love you Mr. Beat!!!
Weird seeing Thurgood Marshall on the wrong side of history here
Have you considered making videos about international cases, like the Nuremberg Trials?
Definitely. Nuremberg is a great first one to tackle.
VHS, I’m 21 and to me it’s really old but not as prehistoric as Betamax. Ive never seen any Betamax stuff ever. But I could still find a VHS player at my grandpas
Prime example of incumbents trying to hold onto the status quo to the detriment of progress. The lesson is, once again, that progress is made by embracing new technology, not digging in your heels against it.
Came for Mr. Beat, stayed for Mr. Rogers.
Yup. I see this similar painful transition with the advent of AI. I hope this case will be the precedent for that.
It will probably be referenced by the AI companies in addition to the 2000’s Google cases.
Shoutout to Mr.Rodgers. I watched him growing up in the late 90’s and this was an added gem to why I like him !
Honestly, I bet a some people in congress had folks back in their district tape relevant news stories and mail the tape to their Washington so they could keep better tabs on what was going on there.
Beta for watching movies, vhs as a vcr
VHS for rentals. Beta for copying rentals. (Immune to macrovision!)
And eventually DVD would lose to digital.
Very well made video.
betamax was way better qual ity than vhs its just the machines kept breaking down, they were more expensive and the recording tape was 2 hours shorter in extended play
What's notable about this lawsuit was Sony literally sued itself
1:05 YAY!!! DvD!!!!
scary to see how much weight some case can hold.
Like Snake, the thug in the Simpsons said, “Oh no……. Beta!”
Copying copyrighted material to own forever
Betamax lost to VHS lost to DVD lost to Blu Ray lost to streaming.
Now, you press a red button on the remote on anything and it’s saved.
How was this any different from tape recorders?
One of those things that would slowed progress if goned wrong
Thank you Mr. Beat!
Good work on this video. I personally prefer Blu-ray discs and digital copies however..
LP's, 45's, 8 tracks, cassettes, VHS, Beta, CD's, DVD's, I wasted money on all of the above. The only thing I never wasted money on were laser discs, but I had friends who had those too. I don't mind that it becomes obsolete as fast as it hits the market as much as I mind that it's all made to fail and fall apart so fast, no matter how much you pay for it.
2:11 fucking hilarious
I’d like to know the logic that allows the US government to deny a Patent “in the National Interest” that is to steal the Intellectual Property of someone and deny them the right to use it and profit by it. Btw, imo that ANY patented idea that isn’t marketed I.e. shelved, should be open for use by the world at large for a nominal fee. Logic, patent is to encourage innovation, if it’s not Used it fails the core object of the legislation.
And then there was Napster
i never had a betamax machine but i did have a VCR so i'll side with that of course then DVDs came out and then Blu Ray and High Def DVD i never got either then streaming which i love
Hey, Mr. Beat. Can you please do a Supreme Court briefs video on Viacom v. TH-cam?
Technology Connections has done some videos about Beta and VHS and apparently the difference isn't all that much in most cases.
And thus we are here... more over what would Disney and Universal do without all those film sales on DVD or Video?
I always stop and read the long textboxes.... others think I'm crazy that I take that time to read them
I believe that you can use anything outside of personal use as long as you have permission to use it and if you rerun something for Money the company may and can ask for a part of the money and if not all of the money
Why don't you cover the FORMAT WARS.
I grew up with VHS in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Am not even American and am still watching all this legal stuff.
I bet the chief justice must be angry to be among the dissenters.
Betamax male
Great video but what are Betamax and VHS?
What people watched stuff on at home before Blu-rays and DVDs
Bruh, the formats weren't abandoned that long ago.
Does Metallica v. Napster qualify as a potential Supreme Court Briefs episode?
That case actually never made it that far.
@@pokepress Okay.
Nintendo and TH-cam should watch this and take notes it may reference old technology bit it's still relevant today like trying to watch TH-cam videos of people playing Nintendo then getting struck down due to copyright infringement
VHS wasn't at war with DVD.... it was clearly obsolete by then. DVD went to war against LaserDisc. And then later on HD-DVD vs Blu Ray. And then nobody cared because everything was streaming.
I like to stream, but if I want to own the TV show or film, I tend to buy the DVD or Blu-Ray. I'm in the minority that *does* care...
I also like to watch broadcast TV, since I do not care for cable TV...
That Betamax commercial wasn't wrong. Despite losing out to VHS, it was objectively the better format.
While true, the reason it lost in the end was that VHS was willing to allow certain kinds of "entertainment" compared to Betamax
❤❤❤
Nowadays I can screen record on my phone
Video 2000 - all the way :P
Hey, Mr. Beat! How about you do a Supreme Court Briefs video on FCC v. Fox Television Stations?
Which case is this?
TH-cam: hold my beer
why did you use comic sans
dissenters were stupid.
20k
It only took me 8 years to reach that milestone!
Liked because Mr.rogers
BETA WAS BETTER!
Tokyo,
Japan
1:05 hail DVD!
Three letter acronyms are cool.
DVD, VHS, JFK, FDR, RTD.
Ok, there are some less cool guys with three letter acronyms. Like, LBJ, or JNT.
Do one comparing Charleston SC and Savannah Ga
First time I got that suggestion!
Mr. Beat
It's an ongoing debate. Check it out. Both cities have great visuals, there's also several socio- economic factors involved; some of which people are afraid to discuss.
Didn't Sony argue that even if copyright was being infringed they weren't the ones doing it?
That's not what won them the case, though. Otherwise, flash carts would still be legal.
What's your favourite Disney movie
My Top 5 are
1. The Little Mermaid
2. The Lion King
3. Frozen
4. Aladdin
5. Beauty and the Beast
Probably Toy Story (I know it's Pixar, but Disney owns them....well they own everything really). Also a big fan of The Lion King.
1. Tarzan
2. Tarzan
3. Tarzan
4. Tarzan 2
5. Tarzan
abolish intellectual property
awesome!