Copyright and IPTV

This article examines a number of UK copyright law issues relevant to providers and users of IPTV services. Broadly speaking this article examines three sets of issues. First, consideration is given to various matters lumped under the heading “rights issues”. This includes rights clearance, the exploitation of new media rights, WIPO's draft broadcasting treaty, and user generated content. Second, this article explains what rights are implicated during the transmission of broadcast content over the Internet either as a stream or download. Third, this article examines how copyright impacts on what end-users can do with IPTV content they receive and what consequences this may have for IPTV providers. The aim is to offer a commercial overview of the strategies being adopted by traditional broadcasters and Internet businesses and to tie this to legal provisions that govern the creation, distribution and use of copyright materials in the context of IPTV.