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Universal refutes copyright allegations

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Media giant NBC Universal has reacted angrily to criticisms from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), alleging that it has placed unreasonably harsh copyright notices on its products. Included in a complaint to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the CCIA’s allegations state that Universal, the NBA, the NFL and several other media firms have used intimidating language in their notices – placed before broadcasts or DVD material – that misrepresent consumer rights under copyright law.

The CCIA is pressing the firms to start a marketing campaign that will inform consumers of their rights to distribute material under fair use law. In a 1 August statement, CCIA spokesman, Will Rodger, said: ‘the bottom line is that the copyright holder is not the final arbiter of how his work can be used. Copyrights are granted by the federal government and it's “we the people” who decide where to draw that line between what's legal and what is not.’

CCIA president, Ed Black, added that the notices ‘represent an assault on free expression and force consumers to continually forgo lawful activities to which they are entitled under federal law and the Constitution.’

In its retaliation, Universal said: ‘There is nothing unlawful, untruthful or inaccurate about the warning labels on our movies, which adhere to long-accepted legal standards and are nearly identical to the warnings used by some of CCIA's own members. Content companies like NBC Universal are working overtime to develop new digital distribution models to reach our audience.

‘At a period of such incredible technological development, CCIA could be a serious and constructive participant to assist those efforts and to reduce the tidal wave of wholesale, illegal distribution of copyrighted content. Instead, it apparently prefers to irresponsibly waste taxpayer dollars by filing a frivolous complaint for the sake of little more than publicity.’