Of the 13 million videocassette recorders sold in the U.S. last year, not one was built by an American manufacturer. Now a small Arizona company, Go-Video, has launched a battle to change that. Go-Video's design for a dual-deck VCR, which won U.S. patent approval last month, contains two recorders side by side. It would enable users to copy tapes, edit them or tape one program while watching another on cassette.
Go-Video's machine (price: $700) would be the only such VCR on the market. But the company claims its plan has been thwarted by a conspiracy of Japanese and South Korean electronics...