Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Thou Shalt Not View The Super Bowl on a 56" Screen

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-like-the-fourteenth-commandment-right dept.

theodp writes "For 200 members of the Immanuel Bible Church and their friends, the annual Super Bowl party is over thanks to the NFL, which explained that airing NFL games at churches on large-screen TV sets violates the NFL copyright. Federal copyright law includes an exemption for sports bars, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, but churches are out of luck. Churchgoers who aren't averse to a little drinking-and-driving still have the opportunity to see the game together in public on a screen bigger than 55 inches."

4 of 680 comments (clear)

  1. I can truly understand this by Jugalator · · Score: 5, Insightful

    After all, it's really hard to make a profit on the Super Bowl.

    After all, the advertisements were set at an as low rate as $90,000 per second.

    Seriously, let's think of the NFL for once. :-(

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  2. Re:Why can live sports events be copyrighted? by whoever57 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What "original authorship" exists?
    The editing, the commentary? It's not like there is a single camera fixed on the field. Also the teams are really entertainers and the sport can be considered an improvised performance.

    Furthermore, to be copyrighted, a work must be fixed into a "tangible medium." That is not the case for a live broadcast (although it might be for an after-the-fact replay).
    If IP addresses held in RAM can be considered "fixed", then a live broadcast can certainly also be considered fixed.
    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  3. Re:Good luck with that, NFL by dosius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's on free-to-air TV. It shouldn't matter who's watching. Got a TV? Got an aerial? That's all you really need. It's not copying, no copy's being made, so what the hell does copyright have to do with anything? It would be a breach of copyright if someone was mastering videos during the game to hand out to the people in attendance...otherwise, they're just thumping their chests like the 900 lb. gorillas they are.

    -uso.

    --
    What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
  4. Re:Good luck with that, NFL by Original+Replica · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So can they be sued for false advertising if they have a commercial that shows more than four people watching football together? If it is illegal to "use their product" in that way, are beer commercials that show large numbers of people over at a person's house enjoying the game together promoting copyright violation?

    --
    We are all just people.