The U.S. Supreme Court has found that Aereo, a New York-based company that allows its subscribers to view live and time-shifted streams of over-the-air television on Internet-connected devices, guilty of copyright infringement.
Since its launch in 2012, Aereo has been surrounded by controversies by major broadcasters in the U.S. Aereo's service was soon sued by a consortium of major broadcasters in the country, which included CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox over copyright violations.
On Wednesday, June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a verdict, which says that Aereo runs illegal service. Aereo's CEO and Founder, Chet Kanojia, has also expressed his disappointment over the court's verdict.
On Saturday, June 28, Aeroe suspended its operations.
"As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court. We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps," Kanojia wrote on a letter to consumers. "All of our users will be refunded their last paid month."
Kanojia says that the Supreme Court's decision should be considered as a major setback for consumers in the U.S. He said that his company worked hard and carefully created technology, which he believes meets the requirement of the current law. However, the Supreme Court decision indicates that "the technology works does not matter." Kanojia says that the latest court decision sends out a frightening message to the entire technology industry.
"Consumer access to free-to-air broadcast television is an essential part of our country's fabric. Using an antenna to access free-to-air broadcast television is still meaningful for more than 60 million Americans across the United States. And when new technology enables consumers to use a smarter, easier to use antenna, consumers and the marketplace win. Free-to-air broadcast television should not be available only to those who can afford to pay for the cable or satellite bundle," says Kanojia.
Aereo, operates only in 11 markets and uses small antennas, which captures over-the-air local TV broadcasts. The antennas then transmit those signals to the customer's device connected to the Internet. Aereo subscribers have to pay only $8 per month for the service.
Aereo believed that its service by-passes copyright law, which means that the company does not pay any copyright fees to broadcasters. However, the Supreme Court suggests that Aereo's system is very similar to cable.
The company defines itself as a cloud-based service. Kanojia has also raised concerns that the current Supreme Court ruling may affect the entire cloud computing market, which has already seen and is expected to witness high growth in the near term.
Kanojia will no doubt feel dissatisfied with the Supreme Court ruling; however, he mentions in a statement that "our work is not done." The statement also adds that the company will still fight for the consumers and produce new technologies, which will have a "positive impact on our world."
