Copyright Office Rebuffs Aereo Cable Play

The Copyright Office has shot down Aereo's attempt to recast itself as a cable system that may retransmit broadcast signals to paying online subscribers with the benefit of the cable compulsory license.

"[T]he Office does not believe Aereo qualifies for the Section 111 statutory license and will not process Aereo's filings at this time," says Copyright Office General Counsel Jacqueline Charlesworth in a July 16 letter to Aereo. However, because the copyright status of Aereo is still being litigated, the letter says that the Copyright Office will accept the Aereo filings on a "provisional basis" and withhold final judgment on processing them.