FilmOn X is asking the Supreme Court to side with the rival streaming service Aereo in its upcoming showdown with TV broadcasters.
“Contrary to the networks' contention, Aereo and FilmOn are
not stealing copyrighted content, but merely providing a convenient method to access content freely available on the public airwaves,” FilmOn X argues in a friend-of-the-court brief filed last
week.
FilmOn X and Aereo both allow people to stream over-the-air TV shows to iPhones, iPads and other devices. TV broadcasters are suing the companies for allegedly infringing copyright by
retransmitting shows without paying fees. The broadcasters say the streams offered by Aereo and FilmOn X are “public” performances, which require licenses.
But the startups contend
that they are legal due to their architecture, which draws on tiny antennas to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals and stream them to users. Aereo and FilmOn X argue that the streams they offer are
“private” performances, because they are made on an antenna-to-user basis.
Both companies have faced several lawsuits, with different results. So far, Aereo initially prevailed in
New York and Boston, but lost in Utah. FilmOn X initially lost in California and Washington, D.C.
The Supreme Court is slated to take up the matter on April 22, when it will hear the
broadcasters' appeal of a pro-Aereo ruling issued by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court rejected FilmOn X's attempt to intervene in that case. But
although the Supreme Court did not allow FilmOn X to participate as a party in the case, it is still able to file a friend-of-the-court brief.
FilmOn X says in its brief that consumers have
the right to make personal copies of television shows under “fair use” principles. “In this case,” FilmOn writes, “the networks seek to prevent individuals from using the
Internet to make personal copies of broadcast content for their own enjoyment.”