In a letter to the editor in today's New York Times, Gigi Sohn of our ally Public Knowledge, points out that a recent story missed the importance to consumers of a recent court decision on the use of cable company remote recording systems (RS-DVRs) that function like home-mounted TiVos or VCRs. Excerpt:

[The story, "A Ruling May Pave the Way for Broader Use of DVR" (Business Day, Aug. 5)] said that "for most consumers, the decision does not make much difference." Nothing could be further from the truth. Had it not been overturned, the lower court’s holding would have outlawed "buffer" copies -- the very temporary copies (in this case 1.2 seconds) that every digital device and service must make to play digital content. Had the studios bringing the lawsuit succeeded, countless consumers would have been exposed to liability via the simple operation of their computers.