Twist and Shout: The Summer of ’69

For many, the summer of 1969 evokes indelible images of Woodstock, the moon landing, and perhaps even a six-string bought at the five-and-dime.

But before any of those cultural events took place, the ground work for a cultural phenomena was laid by two visionaries who filed a patent application in 1966 for a game that would soon get people bending, stretching, laughing, shouting—and twisting. In the summer of '69, on July 8, the beloved game TWISTER was patented, transforming ordinary upright people into a contorted and snarled assembly of human beings.

Twister’s patent is a reminder that patentable innovation is not limited to high-tech devices or laboratory breakthroughs; sometimes, it can be found in something as familiar—and fun—as a party game.

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© Stephen J. Weyer 2026

(* Disclaimer: All views expressed are exclusively those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Stites & Harbison, PLLC)

What's good for the [SONY] goose is good for the [COX COMMUNICATION] gander: Contributory copyright infringement historical perspective

Long before on-demand streaming—and even before DVR recording—Gen Xers and some Millennials will remember using a VCR to record TV shows for later viewing. Two competing, noncompatible tape formats dominated the market: VHS and Beta. While the backstory of the format wars is interesting, all that matters here is that Sony created and backed the Beta videotape format.

In the early 1980s, Sony—the manufacturer of the Betamax® VCR—was sued by the television industry for copyright infringement based on consumers’ use of Sony VCRs to record network television programs. The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that Sony was not liable for contributory copyright infringement arising from consumers’ use of the Sony Betamax® to “time-shift” recorded programs. The Court’s decision rested in part on its conclusion that the Sony Betamax® was capable of substantial noninfringing uses.Long before on-demand streaming—and even before DVR recording—Gen Xers and some Millennials will remember using a VCR to record TV shows for later viewing. Two competing, noncompatible tape formats dominated the market: VHS and Beta. While the backstory of the format wars is interesting, all that matters here is that Sony created and backed the Beta videotape format.

Fast forward to 2026: the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided a copyright case finding no contributory copyright infringement liability for an Internet service provider (Cox Communications) based on customers’ use of the ISP to copy, use, and stream Sony’s copyrighted music. See Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment.

In reaching that result, the Court relied on the reasoning of its earlier Sony Betamax® decision. In other words, the same logic that once shielded Sony from liability—because its product had substantial noninfringing uses—now shields Cox from liability based on its customers’ allegedly infringing uses of its service.

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© Stephen J. Weyer 2026

(* Disclaimer: All views expressed are exclusively those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Stites & Harbison, PLLC)