Australian High Court Says Electronic TV Guide Isn't Copyright Infringement
from the good-news! dept
Back in 2006, an Australian TV network, The Nine Network, sued a startup, IceTV, for creating an electronic program guide that listed out when TV programs played for use in programming DVRs and such. It was difficult to see how a simple listing of TV program info could be infringement, but an Australian court disagreed, saying that the networks owned their own scheduling info. Luckily, however, Phill informs us that Australia’s high court has overturned the lower court ruling, saying that creating your own TV program guide without licensing the info is perfectly legal. It’s sad that it had to take nearly three years for this conclusion, but at least it’s the right result.
Filed Under: australia, copyright, tv guide
Companies: icetv, nine network
Comments on “Australian High Court Says Electronic TV Guide Isn't Copyright Infringement”
Europe as well
A group called VG Media in Germany, which represents several major private broadcasters, is actively sueing both print and electronic program providers for listing their programs and not paying an exorbitant “licensing” fee…the world has gone mad.
Wouldn’t a tv programming schedule be considered fact to an extent? I thought you were unable to claim copyright on facts…
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Exactly
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But the schedule is subject to change so its not exactly a fact just highly probable.
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um no!
facts can change look at the law of gravity it was a fact that gravity worked on Newton’s law but then Einstein shattered it.
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It’s all relative
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Wouldn’t a tv programming schedule be considered fact to an extent? I thought you were unable to claim copyright on facts…
In the US, yes. In many other countries they have “database rights” which allow you to get a copyright on a “collection of facts” such as an entire TV listing…
It would be funny if one would publish their schedule.
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It would be funny if NO one would publish their schedule.
What worries me ...
Is that given the quantity of viewers 9 has over here it’s damned unlikely there’d be enough people using the service to make the time spent re-presenting the data worthwhile.
9 does air ‘a current affair’ and ‘today tonight’. Check them out for an example of tabloid TV..
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