Consumer-Controlled Television: It All Began with Sony Betamax

VCR’s Past Is Guiding Television’s Future. (The New York Times, 7/28/2013)

Excerpt:   The dawn of consumer-controlled television began with the clunky, whirring Sony Betamax in the 1970s. Networks and program providers didn’t like consumers making copies of their movies and TV shows, but a landmark Supreme Court case in 1984 held that taping and time-shifting on the part of viewers was “legitimate fair use.” 

Everything we have seen since extends from that decision to let consumers into the driver’s seat. It helps to think of the digital video recorder as more of a capability than a device.

See also
The Most Important Supreme Court Case in Copyright Law: Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios (1984).  Marquette University Law School faculty blog.

Sony Corp. of America vs. Universal City Studios, Inc. 464 U.S. 417 (1984).  A 5-4 vote.