Analog VCRs have been around for a long time, so you’d think that manufacturing a digital VCR wouldn’t be much of a legal problem. SonicBlue, Inc., has found otherwise. The small Santa Clara-based company is now involved in a massive, two-front legal war involving the latest version of ReplayTV, its digital video recorder.
The company is being sued for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement by some of the world’s biggest media conglomerates and television networks, including AOL Time Warner Inc.; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; Fox Broadcasting Company; General Electric Company; Viacom Internat-ional, Inc.; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Universal Studios; and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
