Back in 2014, the Supreme Court, in American Broadcasting Companies. v. Aereo,
Inc. (Aereo I), shot down a service
designed (1) to offer its subscribers internet/mobile access
to live network TV programming, (2) without first obtaining
licenses, (3) by employing a Rube Goldberg technology that
"rented" personal (mini) TV antennas to each viewer,
(4) in an effort to dodge a judicial ruling that the service
violated the copyright holders' exclusive right to transmit
performances of their programming to the public.
Since then, Aereo—the startup whose streaming service was
blocked by the Court—and others have made numerous attempts
to tweak the details in ways that would enable an internet cable
solution. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently
handed down yet another ruling that suggests that it will be
difficult indeed to find such a solution.
