preston@fortune.UUCP (Carol Preston) (08/07/84)
Just thought I'd add my two cents into this conversation.
Earlier this summer I was living in Ann Arbor Michigan. A new subscription
channel began in Michigan which televised most of the Detroit Tiger baseball
games. Needless to say it is a hot item and a number of bars decided to
get the station with their satellites, to attract more patrons. The company
(named PASS incidently) sent out 'spies' to get a list of which bars
were intercepting their signal. The company then brought suit against
these bars. I don't remember all the details, but the judge (I don't know
what level) ruled that the bars were doing nothing illegal since the signal
was from a satellite and it wasn't being scrambled. The company decided to
appeal, but I don't know anything more since I have since moved from the
area. I do know from friends who still live there that the bars are still
showing the channel. On one of the broadcasts that I watched on "regular"
television, the Tiger's announcer, George Kell, who lives in Arkansas, said
that he even has a satellite and picks up the games.
--
Carol Preston Software Engineer - Belmont
UUCP: {sri-unix, amd, hpda, harpo, ihnp4, allegra}!fortune!preston
DDD: (415) 594-2691
USPS: Fortune Systems Corp, 101 Twin Dolphin Pkwy, Redwood Shores, CA 94065ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (08/09/84)
The problem is that the material is copyright and playing it for audience is illegal no matter whether it came over a satelite, or you went down to the local store and got it. Radio stations pay money to the licensing firms (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC) for the right to play the records that they have procured (sometimes even having to pay for). -Ron