We have no doubt the justices of the Supreme Court are well versed and prepared for any copyright law, but do they understand TV or the hows and whys it can be so frustrating sometimes? Like many of us, possibly not that well — like why HBO can’t keep its streaming service up during Game of Thrones? — which could make reaching a decision in the case between Aereo and the broadcasters seeking to put it out of business especially difficult. During today’s oral arguments Justice Antonin Scalia wondered whether the cable- and satellite-only network HBO might be picked up by Aereo’s antenna-to-internet setup. The justices were mostly on point, however, needling lawyers for the networks about a previous case for Cablevision’s cloud DVR, and how a ruling in their favor could affect cloud internet services.
Breyer initially confused by #Aereo argument. Said to counsel: “that’s not your problem, but it may well turn out to be.”
– Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) April 22, 2014
They also had tough questions for Aereo, with Chief Justice Roberts telling the company’s lawyer “there’s no technological reason for you to have 10,000 dime-sized antenna, other than to get around the copyright laws.” So who will prevail? A decision is expected by the end of June, and it’s anyone’s guess which way the court is leaning, but you can read through the entire proceedings as they occurred this morning right here.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
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Source: Oral Argument Transcripts (PDF)