Date: Mon, 02 May 2011 10:11:34 -0400 From: David Sparro <dsparro@gmail.com> Subject: Re: How do you put a TV station on the Mbone?
On 4/29/2011 8:57 PM, Robert Bonomi wrote:
Those royalties are based on the_actual_number_ of persons tuning in to each such work. No 'averaging', no 'estimating', nothing based on 'ratings', or other 'sampling techniques -- you have to count the_actual_number_ of people tuned in. It gets messy, but you have to have 'auditable' records of when each person 'tuned in', and when they 'tuned out'. One_has_ to be able to detect the latter condition under all possible circumstances.
Really?
Yeah, _really_. That is what the law says.
How do they detect the number of people that were gathered around my screen while I was watching? Does that mean I'll be able to get a refund (pro-rated of course) for falling asleep during UFC 129 this weekend?
There is an 'assumption' built into the applicable implementation rules issued by the government that 'one active display device' == 'one viewer'. How close that assumption is to 'objective reality' is irrelevant to the legalities involved in calculating royalties due.