Aereo Prevails in Copyright Suit Against Broadcasters

Aereo, the Barry-Diller/IAC backed broadband subscription service, was sued by broadcasters for copyright violations not long after the service launched earlier this year.   Users would pay Aereo for a monthly subscription to wireless broadband service, but broadcasters sued Aereo because they felt it did not get permission to retransmit the signals or pay them for their content. According to Multichannel News, the judge on the federal case rcently denied preliminary relief, denying the request to temporarily shut down Aereo.

Judge Alison Nathan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said in his ruling that, “Based on the evidence at this stage of the proceedings, the Court finds that Aereo’s antennas function independently. That is to say, each antenna separately receives the incoming broadcast signal, rather than functioning collectively with the other antennas or with the assistance of the shared metal substructure.” The judge also found no great differences between Aereo and Cablevision Systems‘ Remote Storage DVR, which was determined did not violate copyright protections. The court in question, in fact, relied very heavily on this precedent.

“Plaintiffs have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits,” Judge Nathan ruled. “And although they have demonstrated that they face irreparable harm, they have not demonstrated that the balance of hardships decidedly tips in their favor. As such, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction.”

As a result of the ruling, plaintiffs in the suit, which includes WNET, Fox Television Stations, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, WPIX, Univision Television Group Inc., and more,  have maintained that they will continue to fight for copyright protections and plan to appeal the ruling.

Multichannel News