Friday, October 11, 2013

Aereo Wins Another Round In Court

Siding with Aereo, a federal judge has rejected Hearst's request to shutter the streaming video service.

According to MediaPost.com, U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston said in the ruling that Hearst, which owns the ABC affiliate WCVB, is unlikely to prove that Aereo infringes copyright by streaming TV shows to its subscribers. Gorton also ruled that Hearst hadn't shown that an injunction against Aereo was necessary to prevent “irreparable injury.”

Aereo offers paying subscribers the ability to stream over-the-air TV programs to iPads, iPhones and other devices. The Barry Diller-backed company also offers DVR functionality, allowing subscribers to record shows and stream them later.

Hearst, like other TV broadcasters, contends that Aereo infringes copyright by publicly performing television shows without a license. Aereo counters that its service is legal due to its architecture. The company installs thousands of tiny antennas in local warehouses, then uses those antennas to capture over-the-air broadcasts and stream them to users. Aereo argues its streams are not “public” performances -- which would violate the copyright law -- but private ones.

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