On Tuesday, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals refused TV broadcasters’ petition to appeal an earlier ruling that Internet-streaming startup Aereo is legal in New York City. The appeal came from Fox, CBS and others. Judges were polled and a majority did not want to rehear the case, although Judge Denny Chin called Aereo a “sham” and harmful to the TV industry. Fox Broadcasting is reviewing its options and may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Continue reading Fox Considering an Appeal to Supreme Court in Aereo Battle

Hollywood studios are reexamining traditional distribution models in an era of piracy enabled by digital technologies. Today’s media savvy consumers have evolving expectations regarding how they discover and share music, video content and games, thanks in part to new cloud-based technologies, streaming media services and sophisticated social tools. Some media companies are even considering the idea that models popular with pirates are worth imitating. Continue reading Shift in Consumer Demand: Should Studios Emulate Pirates?

Edith Ramirez, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, presented her recommendation for an investigation into the practices of “patent trolls” yesterday during a patent and antitrust seminar in Washington. Ramirez is calling for the FTC to use its subpoena power to launch a sweeping inquiry into patent-assertion entities (PAE’s, or patent trolls), which are known for purchasing bundles of patents in order to threaten infringement lawsuits. Continue reading FTC Chair Proposes Inquiry into Impact of Patent Trolls

In an appeal that potentially raises the stakes regarding the future of television, broadcasters including Fox, PBS and Univision are asking a New York appeals court to reconsider its decision that allows Barry Diller-backed startup Aereo to retransmit over-the-air TV broadcasts to mobile devices. Earlier this month, we reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York had upheld a ruling in favor of Aereo. Continue reading Broadcasters File Appeal in Response to Aereo Decision