When the VHS recorder was introduced many marketers already worried about possible ad-skipping and now Philips has introduced a DVR that easily cuts the commercial block from the recording. Back in 2003 ReplayTV (a manufacturer of DVRs like TiVo) announced they planned on taking the ad-skipping feature out of their DVRs since they were scared of a copyright law controversy. So the question at TransWorldNews.com was if ad-skipping is piracy... Is it?

A professor of Professional Responsibility, L. Ray Patterson, gave his opinion and said that the copyright owner has no right to interfere with the consumer's use, meaning skipping is not a crime. "The competitor obeys the copyright; the consumer uses the work. The copyright owner, by reason of the Copyright Act and the copyright clause, has not only no right to interfere, but a duty not to interfere with the consumer's use of a publicly disseminated work," Patterson said.

The article concludes by saying that law is on the side of free will, meaning that the consumer can ultimately do what he wants with what he bought. Marketers now have the goal to make the ads more personal, so that we won't fast forward or turn-off.