Aereo is a New York City-based startup that aims to bring broadcast TV signals to all devices — PCs, tablets, smartphones — with small Internet-connected antennas, closing the gap between broadcast TV and the Web. But the startup won’t ever start up if networks have their say.
NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and Univision Communications are suing the company for copyright violation, claiming Aereo doesn’t have the right to take broadcast signals and retransmit them on the Web.
“Anytime new technology comes along that attempts to dramatically rethink the way content is distributed and consumed, those that have traditionally profited from the status quo tend to stand up and object,” comments ReadWriteWeb. “At the same time, it’s not entirely clear how copyright law applies to a case like this. It’s not an uncommon side effect of living in an age of rapid technological innovation that often outruns the pace of the lawmaking process.”
Aereo plans to move ahead with its plans.
“In a somewhat similar approach to Slingbox, Aereo assumes it can get around legal barriers because it’s just tuning into live TV, not re-broadcasting it without permission (which would be summarily illegal), and is licensing one TV antenna per-person, to be streamed one broadcast channel at a time. Not on-demand content for mass consumption, which would be a no-no in this case,” adds TechCrunch. “So, upon news of the lawsuits, Aereo promptly responded with a denial, saying that the broadcasters lawsuits did not ‘have any merit,’ essentially the equivalent of … ‘thank you very much, we’ll see you in court.’”
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Aereo responds: http://www.slashgear.com/aereo-responds-to-massive-network-lawsuits-02216615/
Aereo responds: http://www.slashgear.com/aereo-responds-to-massive-network-lawsuits-02216615/
This could be interesting. TV Everywhere is going nowhere, and Aereo may upset the whole balance.
This could be interesting. TV Everywhere is going nowhere, and Aereo may upset the whole balance.
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