“TiVo users will be able to share copies of digital TV shows through the Internet with a small number of friends and family members, the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday.

“The Alviso, California-based company, which sells a popular digital video recorder, had applied for government authorization so its customers could receive digital broadcasts and share them with up to 10 other TiVo units that share the same customer account. TiVo’s forthcoming “Digital Output Protection Technology” is designed to prevent the files from being distributed more widely.”

Read more…

So, at least for the moment, you can relax. You and your buddy who records M.A.S.H. for you are safe. Unfortunately, nothing involving the government is ever really safe. Your best bet is to run screaming to www.eff.org and start working to keep ‘fair usage rights’ more than a legal fiction.