Abc V. Aereo Inc, 573 U.S.,(2014) Case Berief

ABC v. Aereo Inc, 573 U.S.,(2014)

Facts:

The aero case dealt with the copyright implications of a new form of providing broadcast television programming to viewers. Aero Inc. provides a service that allows its subscribers (who pay) to watch a program that is currently airing on network television or it record programs that it will air in the future over the internet. Aereo allows its customers to watch television shows online as well as recording the shows and play them on internet-enabled devices such as tablets. Aereo basically has a large base of antennas, these antennas tune into a specific program that a subscriber wants, record the program, convert it into internet data and send it over the internet to the end viewer. Aereo is only available in New York City. Aero does not have a licence from the copyright holders of programs to record and/or transmit their programs. American Broadcasting Companies Inc, (ABC) filed a lawsuit against Aereo and moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent Aereo from transmitting programs to its subscribers. ABC claimed that the transmission of the program in this way violates their right to publicly perform their copyrighted works.

The district court denied the preliminary injunction and held that Aereo’s system was not substantially different from another that had been determined non-violative of the rights of copyright holders and the Court of Appeals for the second circuit affirmed the district court’s denial.

Issue:

When a company is transmitting TV programs over the internet to paid subscribers, does it publically perform a copyrighted television program?

Decision:

Yes, court ruled with a 6-3 majority.it held that Aereo’s provision of television programming streams infringes the Stations’ copyrights public