Harry A. Blackmun was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. He previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and worked as a lawyer in Minnesota, including as counsel to the Mayo organizations.
Role at the time: Associate justice writing a dissent joined by three justices
Condemned
Statement summary
Blackmun concludes that time-shifting has a substantial adverse effect on the potential market for the studios' works and cannot be deemed a fair use, even under the formulation of the doctrine that Sony advances.
“Accordingly, even under the formulation of the fair use doctrine advanced by Sony, time-shifting cannot be deemed a fair use.”
Stevens's majority protects Sony's Betamax sales because the device has substantial noninfringing uses. Blackmun's dissent disputes the treatment of home copying as fair use and argues that market harm deserves greater weight.
