InstantTV

This article is about the Singapore based cloud DVR service. Not to be confused with the Brazilian group of TV stations, RecordTV or the InstantTV service offered by Comcast Xfinity.

InstantTV is an online DVR operated by Singapore based RecordTV Pte Ltd. The company was founded by Carlos Nicholas Fernandes in 2007 and previously offered services as RecordTV.com.

InstantTV

Developer(s)	Carlos Nicholas Fernandes
Initial release	July 1, 2007 (2007-07-01)

History

RecordTV.com was originally a US-based company that provided cloud-based recording of any and all Cable TV channels its founder, David Simon had subscribed to, by any user on the Internet. The MPAA sued its founder, David Simon for copyright infringement. David Simon initially hired Ira Rothken to defend against the litigation, but eventually gave up, settled and decided to sell it's assets.

Launch in Singapore

Carlos Nicholas Fernandes purchased the assets of RecordTV.com from David Simon, but then invented (and patented) a system to ensure that the newly launched DVR would be legal. Among other things, the RecordTV.com service was restricted to Singapore users alone and users were able to record only Singapore Free-to-Air content, which was broadcast by Singapore's state-owned broadcaster, MediaCorp. The RecordTV.com website was relaunched in July 2007 and went viral following press coverage. Shortly thereafter, on 24 July 2017 and 27 September 2017, RecordTV.com received two cease and desist letters alleging infringement by MediaCorp.

RecordTV Pte Ltd vs. MediaCorp Litigation

RecordTV Pte Ltd refused to comply with the demand to shutdown its website. Instead, RecordTV preemptively sued MediaCorp for groundless threats of copyright infringement proceedings, claimed S$30.5 million in damages and continued to operate it's website.

One of the core legal issues that arose was whether RecordTV.com was recording content on behalf of its users or whether the users were using RecordTV.com to record TV shows they would otherwise be entitled to see. This was significant because the case would turn on the identity of the party making the copy - if it was the consumer, it could be considered for time-shifting and domestic use and therefore legal. If it was the company, then, the company was recording it for commercial use and therefore illegal. Thus, the case would turn based on the identity of the party making the copy. MediaCorp was represented by Drew and Napier CEO and Senior Counsel, Davinder Singh who cross-examined RecordTV CEO, Carlos Nicholas Fernandes over 3.5 days during the trial. RecordTV.com lost the lawsuit in the High Court of Singapore, only to have the ruling overturned at the Court of Appeals where the Court ruled in favour of RecordTV and awarded costs and damages.

In reversing the ruling of the lower court, the Court of Appeals summarised it's conclusion:

To summarise our observations: in the present case, RecordTV’s iDVR service represents a significant technological improvement over existing recording methods and facilitates the more convenient enjoyment of television viewing rights by those Registered Users living in Singapore who hold valid television licences. RecordTV’s iDVR is simply a technological advance that is not addressed by the Copyright Act in the context of the copyright owner’s exclusive right to copy (ie, reproduce), communicate to the public and authorise the copying and/or the communication to the public of copyright-protected material. Since RecordTV was doing no more than making it more convenient for the aforesaid Registered Users to enjoy the MediaCorp shows (which was something that these Registered Users were entitled to do as MediaCorp had licensed them to view those shows), we are of the view that the public interest is better served by encouraging rather than stifling the use of RecordTV’s novel technology, especially given that MediaCorp has apparently not suffered any loss from RecordTV’s provision of an additional and better time-shifting service to Registered Users who are licensed to view the MediaCorp shows.

Impact of the RecordTV.com victory

The litigation was declared to be a David vs. Goliath battle that came to "its familiar conclusion", on the front page of the Business Times, the main business newspaper owned by the Singapore Press Holdings. Carlos Fernandes was subsequently named as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. The case has become one of the most seminal cases in copyright law. William Patry and David Post both well known legal scholars in the area of copyright wrote about the case on their respective blogs prior to the appeal. The ruling was even cited at WIPO.

Rebranding

As a result of the adverse ruling in the High Court, RecordTV had shut down its service. Following the reversal by the Court of Appeals, RecordTV relaunched the service with a Chase Play function. The service was also renamed InstantTV, to emphasise the feature. Following press coverage on Digital Life, the InstantTV app hit the #1 in Entertainment on the App Store and the Play Store. Today, the InstantTV app has around 500,000 downloads across both the App Store and the Play Store.

See also

• Digital video recorder
• Cablevision
• Mediacorp