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"Universal".. Just like the amount of PSPs in circulation.

Universal, more like a movie studio that hasn't put out any UMD Videos yet. In fact, wasn't it Universal that was Sony's opponent in the landmark Betamax case?

Did you miss Save Betamax?

Hollywood is Trying to Kill Betamax

The Betamax ruling is the only thing that protects your right to own a VCR, tape recorder, CD-burner, DVD-burner, iPod, or TiVo. It's that important. But new legislation that's being pushed through the Senate by lobbyists for the music and movie industries would override the Betamax decision and create a huge liability for any business that makes products which can copy sound or video. This legislation (formerly known as the INDUCE Act) would essentially give Hollywood veto power over a huge range of new technologies. And if they get this power, they'll definitely use it. Even "compromise" drafts from the Copyright Office could make mp3-playing iPods ancient history; the music and movie industries want to force all content to go through their own restricted channels.

Just checking.

Sure, we wouldn't have any of the format wars were it not for Sony's competing formats. However, we wouldn't have the recognized right to use many of the recordable formats you mentioned were it not for Sony, which defeated Universal's copyright infringement claims in the Supreme Court in 1984.

Save Betamax

No, it tells you an election is coming up and they don't want to be asked about this in the last 30 days before people vote.

That is all that has happened, nothing else.

That is probably the most relevant post you'll see in this thread. Don't read the article with a sigh of relief and attribute it to the long overdue arrival of common sense on capital hill.

Be prepared to do whatever you can to defend your online rights in 30 days. If you still think this is just a bunch of hype, or don't understand what is at stake, please take a moment to read this article.

The Betamax ruling is the only thing that protects your right to own a VCR, tape recorder, CD-burner, DVD-burner, iPod, or TiVo. It's that important. But new legislation that's being pushed through the Senate by lobbyists for the music and movie industries would override the Betamax decision and create a huge liability for any business that makes products which can copy sound or video. This legislation (formerly known as the INDUCE Act) would essentially give Hollywood veto power over a huge range of new technologies.

Another great quote which describes the situation well:

Is Congress Insane?

You might think so at first glance. Voters, technology experts, public interest groups, and electronics manufacturers all oppose these efforts to weaken Betamax. So why is it still happening? Because the major record labels and the movie studios-- the same companies that opposed the Betamax ruling-- make huge donations to the re-election campaigns of the Senators who are sponsoring this legislation. And most members of Congress assume this is a non-controversial issue, off the radar of most voters. If they can please their donors without a big fuss, they will. It's bad policy, but until we start making noise, it's smart politics.

If the INDUCE Act becomes law, those who publish filesharing software will become liable for the copyright infringement committed by the users of the software, even if the publishers themselves did not infringe anyone's copyright.

This would include not only the publishers of commercial software, but of open source filesharing software like eMule and gtk-gnutella.

What you do at the call in page is enter your name, email address and zip code. The EFF will email you the phone numbers of both your Senators, as well as some suggestions for how to talk to the staff member who answers the phone.

C'mon, call. You'll be glad you did.

If the INDUCE Act becomes law, those who publish filesharing software will become liable for the copyright infringement committed by the users of the software, even if the publishers themselves did not infringe anyone's copyright.

This would include not only the publishers of commercial software, but of open source filesharing software like eMule and gtk-gnutella.

What you do at the call in page is enter your name, email address and zip code. The EFF will email you the phone numbers of both your Senators, as well as some suggestions for how to talk to the staff member who answers the phone.

C'mon, call. You'll be glad you did.

If the INDUCE Act becomes law, those who publish filesharing software will become liable for the copyright infringement committed by the users of the software, even if the publishers themselves did not infringe anyone's copyright.

This would include not only the publishers of commercial software, but of open source filesharing software like eMule and gtk-gnutella.

What you do at the call in page is enter your name, email address and zip code. The EFF will email you the phone numbers of both your Senators, as well as some suggestions for how to talk to the staff member who answers the phone.

C'mon, call. You'll be glad you did.

Hey Slashdot! Do the right thing and put the graphic counter up! People need to see this; plus a running update wouldn't hurt anyone either.

http://www.savebetamax.org/ Let's Slashdot the Senators. Please sign-up and follow through. If the INDUCE act passes, we all lose.

Americans: do your patriotic duty! http://www.savebetamax.org/

Americans: do your patriotic duty! http://www.savebetamax.org/

Americans: do your patriotic duty! http://www.savebetamax.org/

Do your patriotic duty! http://www.savebetamax.org/

Ideas like Cringely's will be impossible if the INDUCE Act passes.

Save Betamax is a national Congress call-in day this tuesday to oppose the INDUCE Act. It might be our last chance to stop this bill.