TV Broadcasters Fire Back at Aereo's Supreme Court Claims

Both sides in the debate over Aereo's legality hope that the US Supreme Court agrees to a review. But will a dispute over the dispute get in the way of that happening?

Aereo, of course, is the technology company that captures over-the-air TV broadcasts and transmits them to subscribers' digital devices. The company claims this is fair because each transmission is captured and relayed individually and privately. The broadcasters contend that it is a public performance in violation of copyright laws. ABC, CBS, Fox, NBCU and other broadcasters filed a reply brief to what Aereo had to tell the Supreme Court. According to the document, "Aereo’s response brief gets a great deal wrong, but it gets one important thing right: This exceptionally important case warrants this Court’s immediate review." The question, though, is what would the Supreme Court be agreeing to hear? The broadcasters want to present the issue of "whether a company 'publicly performs' a copyrighted television program when it retransmits a broadcast of that program to thousands of paid subscribers over the Internet." "Rather than defend the Second Circuit’s reasoning, Aereo devotes substantial effort to attempting to recast itself as something it plainly is not -- a mere supplier of equipment that individuals may use to enhance their 'private reception of broadcast television,' ” says the broadcasters' reply. "Make no mistake about it. Aereo is not a hardware supplier. It offers a subscription service."

[Dec 23]