Internet TV service Aereo now argues it’s a cable system and wants to be given a license

Aereo has had a rocky journey recently — it suspended its antenna and internet-based TV service just days after the Supreme Court ruled that it violates US copyright law.

Chet Kanojia, Aereo’s CEO and founder, had pledged to fight on — and now the company has issued a letter to the lower court which argues that under the Supreme Court’s ruling, Aereo was categorized as a cable company and it is therefore entitled to a statutory license.

Aereo uses a large number of tiny antennas to pick up local TV feeds and pipe it to individual subscribers over the internet, raising the ire of broadcasters who say this is illegal. The Supreme Court had held that Aereo “is for all practical purposes a traditional cable system.” Aereo is now in the process of filing the necessary statements of account and royalty fees to fight for such a license. However, the broadcasters (whom Aereo is going up against) say in the same letter that it is “astonishing” for the internet company to take such a stance.

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