Major television networks in the U.S. have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stop start-up Aereo from re-broadcasting their content to its users.
The television networks, which include ABC, CBS, PBS, Sisney and Fox, have asked the court to decide whether the re-broadcasting of the copyrighted programming by Aereo is "public" and, therefore, prohibited on the basis of the copyright law or, as Aereo has argued it is engaged in several "private" performances to paying strangers.
For the uninitiated, Aereo is an online service that streams over-the-air (OTA) programming to its members who pay the start-up for the service. Aereo uses tiny individual antennas that enable its members to watch live local broadcasts via an Internet-connected device, as well as store the shows in a cloud-based DVR. The company is partly funded by media mogul Barry Diller.
On October 10, Massachusetts district judge Nathaniel Gorton declined an injunction against Aereo which was brought by Hearst Station
The television networks are of the opinion that the Supreme Court should review the case. The broadcasters argue in the filed petition that courts outside the Second Circuit based in New York have shut down similar services in the past. The petition also argued that the Second Circuit decision, which was in Aereo's favor, is quickly damaging the television industry.
"The decision below has far-reaching adverse consequences for the broadcast television industry, making the need for this Court's review urgent and acute," said the petition. Adding that "while conduct like Aereo's is being enjoined throughout the rest of the country, it is allowed to flourish in the largest national market."
"Inside the Second Circuit, technical detail trumps common sense," said the petition.
Aereo spokeswoman Virginia Lam said, "We will respond, as appropriate, in due course."
Per a Fox spokesman, the filing of the Supreme Court petition reiterates the broadcaster's stand.
"Make no mistake, Aereo is stealing our broadcast signal. As do so many businesses both large and small, broadcasters rely on enforcement of the law to receive fair value for the high quality news, sports and entertainment we create and in turn deliver to millions of Americans each day," said the Fox spokesperson, per CNET.
Both NBC and CBS have so far refrained from commenting. Petitions to the Supreme Court are approximately 10,000 per year and the court hears arguments for barely 75 to 80 of them, which is less than one percent. A strong possibility exists that the TV networks have a long shot at getting the ruling in their favor if they are granted a hearing in the first place.
