Aereo’s free-to-air broadcast TV service violates the Copyright Act, Supreme Court rules

It’s been a long road, but Aereo‘s antenna and internet-based TV service has been struck a chunky blow, after a  6–3 Supreme Court ruling found that its violates the Copyright Act.

Aereo is pretty unique in that it uses a huge number of tiny antennas to pick up local TV broadcasts and pipes it to individual subscribers over the internet. This means the channels and content varies depending on the subscriber’s current location. While the broadcasters argued this is illegal, Aereo counter-argued by saying it legally captures the programming and merely provides the technology for its subscribers to use, essentially passing the buck on to the viewers themselves.

The court has now backed the broadcasters, and it ‘remains to be seen where Aereo goes from here.

➤ Aereo loses to broadcasters in Supreme Court fight for its life | The Verge