The Sky Did Not Fall: The Supreme Court Invalidated Online Retransmission of Broadcast Television in American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, Inc.

摘要

The case of American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo1 offered the Supreme Court another opportunity to address the impact of new technology on existing copyright law. The decision, another of a relatively robust copyright and trademark docket in recent Supreme Court terms, was fraught with implications for new digital technologies, cloud computing, and remote data storage. The Court's narrow ruling overturned the Second Circuit's decision denying copyright owners an injunction against Aereo's service, and left questions about the Copyright Act's impact on the viability of various other technologies, including cloud storage and other online streaming systems, for another day. Through a review of recent trends in television delivery systems, the Supreme Court's evaluation of television exhibition under the Copyright Act, and the decision and dissent in Aereo, many questions remain about the viability of new television delivery systems, as well as other remote computing technologies.