Copyright Case Harkens Back to Betamax Day in Court

Wednesday, 27 March 2013 | by Pat's Picks

The New York Times points out the similarities between the fight Hollywood put up 30 years ago to get the Sony Betamax outlawed and a recent Supreme Court decision that upheld a student’s right to earn revenue by reselling textbooks. In 1984 Jack Valenti told the Supreme Court that “the VCR is to the American film producer…as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone,” a fervent argument that didn’t convince Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who swung the court’s decision 5-4 in favor of the Betamax.

SOURCE: New York Times