[mythtv-users] Boxee/Hulu?

[Eric Sharkey]

On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 2:52 PM, David Brodbeck <gull at gull.us> wrote:
> On Mon, March 2, 2009 5:29 am, Eric Sharkey wrote:
>> By this logic you could arrest
>> every DVD rental customer, since they should have seen it in the
>> theater or bought the DVD.
>
> Maybe, maybe not.  DVD rental places have to pay licensing fees for the
> DVDs they rent.  It's not like they can just buy a DVD at retail price and
> then start renting it.

Of course, but that's not the point I was trying to make.  The rental
customer does not pay such licensing fees directly.  They pay the
rental service and the rental service uses a portion of the rental fee
to pay for these licensing fees.

The point I was trying to make with this argument is that the consumer
puts less money into the pocket of the content producer by renting
than if they had gone to the theater or bought the DVD.  This is
analogous to using Hulu via whatever means they choose rather than
buying cable and/or watching the OTA advertising.

If there are two legal methods by which a person may acquire access to
a copyrighted work, it is not a violation of copyright for the person
to choose the cheaper method and does not negate fair use (which takes
into account the economic effect on the copyright holder).

Eric