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Optus TV Now case tests copyright

Optus' cloud service allows subscribers to record and TV shows on their phones and personal computers.

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A case against Optus’ cloud service TV Now brought against it by Telstra, the AFL and NRL was heard in the Federal Court yesterday.

The service allows subscribers to record and TV shows on their phones and personal computers.

But the two football codes have sold their digital rights to Telstra.

Optus argues the service is no worse than digital personal video recorders such as the Foxtel IQ.

The sports codes claim device users can accelerate recording to within 2 minutes of the broadcast, and deem it a breach of copyright.

Optus says it has no control over what people watch or when.

This will be a case to watch.

It continues in the Federal Court.

Source: The Australian

8 Responses

  1. If optus released a pvr that provided the exact same functionality and made it available to rent would they be breaking any laws? Imo cloud based services should be legally treated as the same as a physical device with the same functions.

  2. “Optus says it has no control over what people watch or when”.
    Of course they have. Optus has not paid for this content which they are selling to their subscribers. This will be interesting to watch.

  4. Monkeys trying to hold back the tide. The future is coming whether you like it or not. Smart people prepare themselves for the inevitable rather than wasting time, energy, and money trying to stop it from happening.

  6. But is Optus charging subscribers for access to this service? If so, then quite different to “digital personal video recorders such as the Foxtel IQ” where Foxtel has paid the copyright owner.

  7. So the technical wizards at Telstra/Big Pond didn’t foresee the possibility of this sort of service before they paid squillions for the internet rights to the footy, and now they want the courts to help them out?

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