Competition on cable networks would violate copyright

When cable companies Ziggo and UPC allow competitors onto their market, both them and the newcomers would violate copyright. This occurs as selling the TV licences to newcomers entails renewed publication. And neither the cable companies nor the new competitors have a license for this.

OPTA, the Dutch cable authority that forces this market to open, forces the vested cable companies to sell their television packages to newcomers, so they can broadcast too. This causes both parties to find themselves in a sticky copyright situation, as the vested companies only own a license for one single publication. And selling the package to newcomers is seen as a renewed, combined publication.

A complementing problem is that the combined publication entails that both parties need to negotiate the new licence with rights holders together. That could prove tricky for two competing parties, one of which has much to gain and the other much to lose.

A possible solution would be that newcomers sort out licenses themselves. But that could also lead to some judicial troubles. The vested parties, for example, have a monopoly on broadcasting BBC 1 and 2 and UPC’s mother company, Liberty Global, also owns The Discovery Channel. That could cause trouble if newcomers would want to get a license.

The planned date that the cable infrastructure should be opened up is set at March 2010. However, all parties involved, including OPTA, who set the deadline, feel that chances are slim that it will be met.

Source: Webwereld