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June 30, = 2000

Concerned Father Makes
Transition to Media = Pirate

By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS
Staff = Reporter of=20 THE = WALL STREET JOURNAL

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. -- It didn't take much for a = suburban=20 computer programmer named David Simon to make the transition = from=20 concerned father to accused global media pirate.

Last November, Mr. Simon set out to appease his = eight-year-old=20 daughter, Phoebe, who was upset about missing too many = episodes of=20 the cartoon show "Pokemon." With two of his VCRs not working = and a=20 third in the habit of eating tapes, Mr. Simon plugged his TV = antenna=20 into a computer, fiddled awhile and saved the show on his = family's=20 home computer network. When his daughter's friends got = jealous, he=20 put the episodes on a Web page for them all to see.

=20

Mr. Simon later set out to turn his family's "virtual = VCR" into a=20 business that would record television shows on a Web site = for=20 viewers around the world to watch at their convenience. And = though=20 his fledgling enterprise has no financing, no offices and no = executives other than Mr. Simon, it does have the rapt = attention of=20 a dozen major entertainment companies, which have slapped = Mr. Simon=20 and his start-up company, RecordTV, with a $10 million = copyright=20 infringement lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Los = Angeles.

The companies, including giants like Time Warner Inc. and Walt Disney Co., allege that Mr. Simon is = stealing=20 their shows and beaming them illegally to Web users = everywhere. The=20 entertainment companies' swift response shows how eager they = are to=20 move more aggressively against potential video pirates than = they did=20 in the music industry. The major record labels last year = allowed=20 Napster Inc. to build an audience numbering in the hundreds = of=20 thousands before taking legal action against its = controversial=20 file-sharing program.

Mr. Simon's service demonstrates how easy it is to grab = some of=20 the most valuable entertainment there is and zap it = everywhere=20 without asking its owners' permission. These days, a lone = programmer=20 working out of a home office, with little more than a PC and = a=20 high-speed Internet connection, is all it takes.

"Out of the MIT undergraduate population, probably half = of them=20 could have done this in their spare time," says Michael = Bove, a=20 principal research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute = of=20 Technology's Media Laboratory.

Mr. Simon, a wiry 40-year-old with hair past his = shoulders, is=20 awed by his new status as a Hollywood bad guy. A programmer = for a=20 printing-software company in Ventura, Calif., Mr. Simon's = interest=20 in technology is hinted at by the red Volkswagen Beetle --=20 California plate DEBUG ME -- that sits in his driveway. His = quiet=20 San Fernando Valley lifestyle has been disrupted enough that = he=20 hasn't had time recently for his solitary 15-mile runs. The=20 situation is so off-putting that Mr. Simon says he hasn't = read=20 beyond the first page of the lawsuit against him. "I'm in = over my=20 head," he says.

Movie Studios Sue Web Site Offering = TV-Show=20 Replays (June 16, = 2000)

It didn't take much for Mr. Simon to become a = cutting-edge Web=20 player. He had already been using his computer to watch the = news and=20 "Star Trek" reruns. He did that by connecting his TV signal = to his=20 computer's TV tuner card.

He then began working nights and weekends to create the = "glue" --=20 computer code -- that would stitch together four elements: = the tuner=20 card, software to capture and store the images, RealPlayer = software=20 to stream the video, and a Web site to provide access to it = all.=20 While that is no job for a novice, Mr. Simon says: "For a = good=20 techie, it's doable."

Mr. Simon didn't want the responsibility of running a = start-up.=20 "Until all this happened, I had the most stress-free, = relaxed life=20 in the world," he says. But he began to wonder whether he = might have=20 a lucrative business idea on his hands. With his wife, = Robin, he=20 began searching for an unclaimed company name -- VCR.com = wasn't=20 available -- and studied up on raising venture capital. He = put=20 together a five-page business plan with the help of his dad, = who is=20 retired from the furniture business.

By March, Mr. Simon unveiled his primitive site for the = world to=20 see. With a pinkish background and a cheesy logo, he = concedes: "It=20 was a pretty ugly Web site."

Its appeal had much more to do with what it could do: = provide a=20 simple and convenient way of watching a TV show whenever you = want to=20 watch it. Web surfers could simply pick a program from the = TV=20 listings -- which Mr. Simon dutifully typed in from a = newspaper --=20 click on a "record" button, and then hit "play." The site = bragged:=20 "It's as simple as that!"

Actually the operation didn't attract much interest from = the=20 venture-capital world, but Internet fans were turned on to = it by a=20 March recommendation from a Web service called Netsurfer. = The plug=20 came with this prescient warning: "There is every = possibility that=20 the Powers That Be may soon express supreme displeasure with = such=20 sites, so better get while the getting is good."

Mr. Simon was grateful to Netsurfer but not prepared for = the=20 traffic jam. "You brought our Web site to its knees," he = wrote. And=20 so in April and May, he started upgrading his hardware and = later=20 lugged the whole operation to a local Internet service = provider that=20 could offer faster connections.

Still, the site had technical problems. Reflecting the=20 limitations of streamed video on the Web, the picture itself = was=20 small and often grainy. At one point, he posted a message to = users=20 explaining: "All shows recorded before 4/5/00 were lost, = sorry,=20 nothing we can do about that now." Still, RecordTV claimed 100,000 = registered users=20 by the time it was sued on June 15.

Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association = of=20 America, explains that the industry wanted to send a strong = signal=20 to Mr. Simon and anyone else bent on redistributing TV = programming=20 on the Web. "We're not going to make it easy for these guys = to steal=20 our material," Mr. Valenti says. "You have to go after these = people=20 fast, immediately, when they poke their head up."

Mr. Simon is suddenly the newest lightning rod in the = debate over=20 who owns entertainment content on the Internet. He has = received a=20 lot of supportive e-mails, including one asking for "the SOB = CEOs'=20 e-mail addresses." The RecordTV=20 Web site now features an online discussion of the legal = troubles,=20 with one supporter saying that the media giants "should be = happy=20 that they get more chances to have their lame wares = broadcast into=20 more homes."

Potential investors have contacted him from out of the = blue, and=20 attorneys eager to represent him contributed to the flood of = e-mail.=20 Oddly, the San Rafael, Calif., attorney who does now = represent Mr.=20 Simon, Ira Rothken, argues that RecordTV was so glitch-prone and = delivered=20 so little programming to its users that plaintiffs aren't = entitled=20 to damages. Mr. Rothken's main legal argument, however, is = that Mr.=20 Simon's service should be treated no differently under the = law than=20 a VCR. People can record programs for their own use.

But Mr. Simon doesn't have the stomach for a long fight, = saying=20 "I'm not trying to be the crusader or the martyr." He is = eager to=20 settle, but Mr. Valenti -- stressing that he has no comment = on this=20 case -- says, "There can be no middle ground on pilfering = somebody's=20 property. You don't license stealing."

For the moment, nobody can use Mr. Simon's service = anyway. Call=20 up RecordTV.com and = you'll find a=20 photo of the tanned Mr. Simon and his bio, with a note = reading:=20 "This Web site is currently down while we deal with some = legal=20 issues."

Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com

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Concerned Father MakesTransition to Media = Pirate

Concerned Father Makes
Transition to Media = Pirate