After filing a number of lawsuits, Dish’s effort to combat the piracy of its satellite TV programming is starting to pay off. Just days ago, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a permanent...more
HBO escaped a copyright lawsuit on Tuesday May 1, after a New York federal judge dismissed claims filed against the network by a graffiti artist. Last July, Itoffee R. Gayle, sued the television network for featuring his...more
During recent years, the Internet has become the basic foundational infrastructure for the global movement of data of all kinds. With continued growth at a phenomenal rate, the Internet has moved from a quiet means of...more
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in ABC v. Aereo Inc., 134 S.Ct. 2498 (2014), that Aereo’s internet retransmission service was “substantially similar” to cable, and therefore violated the Transmit Clause of the Copyright...more
With live-streaming apps Periscope and Meerkat becoming increasingly popular, the introduction of a “live” element in the social media game is creating unique business and legal concerns. While most of the videos streamed on...more
"Wild Thing" Forced to Tap Out in Battle against ESPN - Last month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals forced former professional wrestler Steve "Wild Thing" Ray to tap out in his battle against ESPN by dismissing the...more
Boxing fans eagerly awaited the May 2, 2015, championship match between boxers Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. But the fight also drew the interest of those following online video apps Meerkat and Periscope....more
On June 25, the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in the case of American Broadcasting Companies, et al. v. Aereo, Inc. f/k/a Bamboom Labs, Inc., Case No. 13-461 (June 25, 2014). The case centered on Aereo’s...more
On June 25, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court decided American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc., No. 13-461, holding that Aereo violates the Copyright Act by streaming near-live copyrighted television programming to subscribers...more
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued the Aereo opinion and decided that, given its activities, Aereo is substantially similar to a cable television provider and therefore “perform[s] petitioners’ copyrighted works ‘publicly,’...more
American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. – What You Need to Know - Today the Supreme Court ruled that streaming broadcast television signals to subscribers without paying for the programs violates the...more
In a significant victory for the broadcast industry, the Supreme Court has held in a 6-3 decision that Aereo’s TV streaming service is a public performance within the meaning of the Copyright Act. Aereo operates massive...more
The U.S. broadcasting industry scored a significant win yesterday, when the U.S. Supreme Court determined that internet TV provider Aereo infringed the copyright of broadcasters by streaming their over-the-air broadcasts to...more
In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court today ruled that Aereo’s internet television service infringes broadcasters’ exclusive rights to publicly perform their works. Despite the potentially broad...more
Television broadcasters and other digital content providers issued a collective sigh of relief on June 25, 2014 when the United States Supreme Court issued its much-awaited opinion in American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v....more
While the decision is ostensibly limited to Aereo’s particular service, it offers some guidance on how broadcast networks, cable-alternative companies like Aereo, and other content providers can innovate within the bounds of...more
In American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. et al. v. Aereo, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held today by a margin of 6 to 3 that an unlicensed online broadcast television retransmission service infringed copyrights owned by...more
How do you prove someone is breaking the law, if the technology they are using to do so didn’t even exist when the law was written?...more
On April 22, 2014 the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of American Broadcasting Company (“ABC”) v. Aereo. Although this case has been overshadowed by other matters on the Court’s docket and has...more
A central theme of several Justices’ comments and questions was how a decision finding Aereo’s business to involve public performance could affect Dropbox or other cloud storage providers where consumers store performance...more