As noted earlier in this blog, two weeks ago the Supreme Court denied cert in the case of Cable News Network, Inc. v. CSC Holdings, Inc. (“Cablevision”).  That order leaves in place Cablevision’s appellate victory, allowing it (for now) to continue offering its “remote DVR” service to cable customers, without payment of additional royalties for the storage and delivery of that programming.  The result was somewhat surprising to experts, and many had expected the Supreme Court to hear the case.  But more than anything else, the result signals a looming battle over secondary liability principles – principles that the plaintiffs chose not to put into play in the Cablevision case – and how the landmark Universal Pictures v. Sony (“Betamax”) case will be applied to similar digital services.

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