IceTV takes program guide case to the High Court

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 26 June 2008 15:01

Business IT - Networking

A long-running legal squabble between Australia's Nine television network and IceTV, a third-party provider of electronic program guides for PVRs and computers, looks like reaching its climax in the High Court of Australia.

On June 24, Nine obtained a Federal Court order restraining IceTV from reproducing or communicating "the whole or a substantial part of any Nine Weekly Program Schedules... without the licence of the [Nine Network]".

Many owners of PVRs and other TV-related devices rely on IceTV for program information so they can reliably record their favourite shows. The service was launched in 2005.

Nine's objection is believed to be that making recording on devices other than VCRs facilitates the complete skipping of adverts. There has been a suggestion that the Australian commercial TV industry will only licence its program listings for use on devices with a limited fast-forward speed.

In 2007, the same judge who has issued the restraining order (Justice Bennett) dismissed a claim by Nine that IceTV was infringing its copyright in the program listings.

While the new court order is not entirely clear to this layman, it seems to imply that IceTV may have been using program guides published by Nine's licensees.

Was the program schedule copyright upheld? Please read on.