As noted last week in "Extreme Copyright," a federal magistrate had ordered digital video recorder maker SonicBlue to write new software that would track every program and every commercial watched by every SonicBlue owner and report the findings back to the company, to be turned over intact to Hollywood. Not aggregate data -- specific viewing logs for specific viewers, though not (at least at first) tied to the viewer's name, even though the order would require maintaining that connection as I understood it.

More thoughtful heads have prevaled, and the US District Judge overseeing the magistrate has stayed that order until at least June 3, when the court will hear the motion requesting the order be reversed.