Over the Top – The Legal Gridlock that Hinders Competition in the US Streaming Video Market: Ryan Baker and Scott Malzahn Author Article for Intellectual Property Magazine

While the recent emergence of streaming platforms such as YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video seem to provide more options for consumers, the lack of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidance has done just the opposite, preventing smaller platforms from competing in the market, thereby reducing consumer control over their over-the-top (OTT) video delivery options. In their article for Intellectual Property magazine, Ryan Baker and Scott Malzahn discuss the current state of the video streaming market and the restrictions that hinder its growth.

The pace of technological innovation in recent years has skyrocketed, but the Copyright Act has remained largely unchanged since the 1970s. A comprehensive overhaul is unlikely anytime soon. Although there have been recent regulatory efforts to foster competition, Baker and Malzahn point out that the current administration’s policies have failed to promote broader competition in the OTT video delivery market, leaving the field to larger, entrenched players. Minimal regulatory action would foster competition and provide consumers with more choice.

“The market has clearly voted for OTT video delivery,” Baker and Malzahn wrote. “Now it is up to the relevant government agencies to either promulgate fair and technologically neutral regulations or interpret existing law in a technologically neutral fashion.”

Read the full article here.