FilmOn Ruling Not The End of the World

[Commentary] The networks suffered a setback July 16 when US District Court Judge George Wu ruled that Alki David's FilmOn is entitled to the compulsory license. But it's only a setback. There is plenty more litigation to go before it's settled that FilmOn -- or any other online video distributor (OVD) -- may enjoy the benefits of the license as cable and satellite operators do. For the record, the license permits redistributors of broadcast signals to cover their copyright liability by paying a nominal fee through the Copyright Office.

The Supreme Court has weighed in once on this issue, and may do so again before it's all over. And even if the networks ultimately lose the legal battle, they may not lose the war. The Federal Communications Commission has their backs. Sometime later in 2015, the agency, with the backing of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, is expected to rule that OVDs are multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) just like cable and satellite operators. What's more, even if the courts grant FilmOn and other OVDs the license, they will still have to go to broadcasters for retransmission consent. The FCC is going to see to that.