In The News Current Supreme Court Cases

by Ruben Estrada

After reading a few court case synopses, I decided to investigate the case of ABC, Inc. v.
Aereo, Inc. This was mainly because ABCs parent company is The Walt Disney Company, my
employer. Also, what is fascinating about this case is that it is entirely based on our ever-growing
technology of this generation.

Aereo was a New York City-based company that provided a service to its customers in
which they could watch network television in real time, record shows that would eventually air at
some point on television and playback programs on devices connected to the internet such a cell
phone.

The issue at hand is that Aereo was acting almost as a cable company without paying the
necessary fees that cable companies pay broadcasters to show their material. Because of this
CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox all sued Aereo for copyright infringement. In both Federal court and
Second Circuit appeal, the case was settled in favor of the defendant. This was because Aereo
claimed that they were not in fact a cable company. Because the consumer choses what to watch
on his or her time, it was concluded that what was being watch wasnt broadcast and therefore
did not infringe on the 1992 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act.

This lasted until the case was brought to the Supreme Court in 2014. There was a 6-3
ruling in favor of ABC, Inc. It was decided by Justice Stephen G. Breyer that Aereo acted to
closely to a cable company and that the Copyright Act needed to regulate this company as it
would any cable company. Naturally due to the ruling, Aereo when out of business that year.

ABC, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. was an important case because it touched upon new technology
that was not yet being regulated because it was unprecedented technology. As we pushed forward
into the world of streaming television, there needed to be new laws set into motion to protect the
broadcast companies and the companies creating and providing content for consumers. There is
no question that streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have changed the landscape of
television and a closer eye is needed to oversee issues like piracy and copyright infringement.

Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech. "ABC, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc.." Oyez. https://
www.oyez.org/cases/2013/13-461 (accessed March 30, 2017).

Questions:
1 Do you believe in the near-distant future that cable companies will be obsolete and
streaming services will be the primary form of television viewing?
2 What other issues such as piracy and copyright infringement do you think come up with
new technology like Roku or Apple TV?