Siding with Aereo, a federal judge has rejected Hearst's
request to shutter the streaming video service.
According to MediaPost.com , U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston said in the ruling
that Hearst, which owns the ABC affiliate WCVB, is unlikely to prove that Aereo
infringes copyright by streaming TV shows to its subscribers. Gorton also ruled
that Hearst hadn't shown that an injunction against Aereo was necessary to
prevent “irreparable injury.”
Aereo offers paying subscribers the ability to stream
over-the-air TV programs to iPads, iPhones and other devices. The Barry
Diller-backed company also offers DVR functionality, allowing subscribers to
record shows and stream them later.
Hearst, like other TV broadcasters, contends that Aereo
infringes copyright by publicly performing television shows without a license.
Aereo counters that its service is legal due to its architecture. The company
installs thousands of tiny antennas in local warehouses, then uses those
antennas to capture over-the-air broadcasts and stream them to users. Aereo
argues its streams are not “public” performances -- which would violate the
copyright law -- but private ones.
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