Aereo, the television-over-the-Internet service that suspended operations after the Supreme Court ruled against it, is refusing to disband for good.
The company is now using the Supreme Court’s own language to force broadcasters to treat it just like a cable TV company. In Aereo’s view, that means broadcasters must license their signals to Aereo under a 1976 copyright law.
But the Supreme Court actually stopped short of declaring Aereo a cable company, and previous court rulings have said Internet-based services don’t qualify. Even if Aereo is considered a cable company, a 1996 communications law overrides some of the guarantees that Aereo is seeking.
“It’s probably going to be an uphill battle,” said Seth Davidson, an Edwards Wildman Palmer attorney who specializes in communications and copyright law. “It’s Aereo’s last shot. I see no downside to them in trying.”
Until Aereo voluntarily suspended service on June 28, it was streaming live and recorded television shows to customers’ tablets, phones and other gadgets. Prices started at $8 a month. Aereo claimed it wasn’t anything like a cable company because each customer was temporarily assigned an individual antenna about the size of a dime. Aereo argued that the arrangement was no different from customers who put their own antennas on rooftops.
The Supreme Court rejected Aereo’s argument, saying that the company acted like a cable system, so its service constituted a public performance subject to copyright royalties and licensing.
Now, Aereo says that if that’s the case, it should be allowed to retransmit signals under what’s called a compulsory licensing arrangement. In essence, a cable company is allowed to pick up the broadcast signal without reaching a licensing deal with the station. The U.S. Copyright Office then calculates royalties based partly on the cable company’s revenue.
The matter is now before U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in New York. Nathan must decide whether to grant broadcasters’ request to ban Aereo, which would prevent Aereo from lifting its voluntary suspension. If the judge agrees that Aereo is a cable company, then Aereo could resume operations, regardless of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
About the Author
