US government backs broadcasters in Aereo battle

The US government has backed the nation’s broadcasters in their battle with TV and radio streaming service Aereo, which is soon to reach the country’s Supreme Court.

In an amicus brief filed with the court at the beginning of this month, the Department of Justice and the US Copyright Office said the service is “clearly infringing” the rights of broadcasters.

Aereo retransmits TV broadcasts over the Internet, allowing its subscribers to watch and record live programmes.

Several major players in broadcasting, including CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, have said the service infringes their copyright.

Last year, the broadcasters filed a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court after the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit refused to grant a preliminary injunction against Aereo.

On January 10, the Supreme Court confirmed it would hear the case.

The brief called on the Supreme Court to reverse the appeals court’s decision when it rules on the case later this year.

The brief said Aereo “enables subscribers to gain access to copyrighted content in the first instance — the same services that cable companies have traditionally provided.”

Customers pay between $8 and $12 a month for the service but Aereo does not pay licensing fees to the original broadcasters of programmes.

According to TIME, the US business magazine, Aereo had expressed concern in an interview that ruling in favour of broadcasters would not only threaten it but the cloud storage industry as a whole.

However, the brief said reversing the judgement “need not” threaten the legality of cloud computing and other “innovative technologies” that allow the public to use the Internet to store their own lawfully acquired copies of copyrighted works.

The brief continued: Aereo’s service “enables subscribers to gain access to copyrighted material in the first instance – the same service that cable companies have traditionally provided. Unlike cable companies however, respondent does not pay licensing fees to the copyright holders.”

Arguments at the Supreme Court are set for April this year and a decision is expected before the end of June.

Aereo did not respond immediately to requests for comment.