SBE Regulatory Update

 June 25, 2014

Supreme Court rules in favor of Broadcasters

June 25, 2014 - The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled 6-3 in favor of Broadcasters and against the Internet service, Aereo.  The Court's decision, "reverses a lower court ruling denying broadcasters' injunction against the [Aereo] service," according to a report by Broadcasting & Cable.

Broadcasters asserted that Aereo was violating copyright by delivering TV station signals remotely over the Internet without compensating content providers.

The court ruled that Aereo provides a public performance, not a private one, as Aereo had asserted. "The statute makes clear that the fact that Aereo's subscribers may receive the same programs at different times and locations is of no consequence. Aereo transmits a performance of petitioners' works "to the public," Justice Breyer wrote for the majority.

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