Commercial Broadcasters Showdown in DC Federal Court to Stop Programming Re-Transmitter

Logo of Fox Television Stations (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Same battle, different forum.

 Fox Televisions Stations, Inc., joined by 10 other plaintiffs, has sued Alki David's Aereokiller LLC and FilmOn.TV in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to stop unlicensed online streaming of commercial television programming. The 23-page complaint, Fox Television Stations, Inc. et al v. Aerokiller, LLC et al (Case No. 1:13-cv-00758) alleges copyright infringement.

Similar to the battle waged against Aereo by broadcasters transmitting content over the public airwaves (see "TUOL" posts 5/17/13, 8/14/12), the plaintiffs have thus far fared better against David's five-year-old digital tv streaming companies. According to a post by The Hollywood Reporter's THR, Esq. Web site, a California federal court this year issued an injunction against Aerokiller, finding a likelihood that the company was infringing on broadcasters' copyrighted programming. Last month, however, broadcasters were dealt a setback by a federal appeals court ruling in New York that refused to halt Aereo from retransmitting programming over the Internet.