Supreme Court Rules that Aereo Violated Copyrights

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed its decision in ABC v. Aereo, ruling that Aereo’s service of providing its subscribers with streaming broadcasts obtained through the company’s miniature antennas is illegal.  The court ruled that over-the-air broadcasts count as a public performance and that Aereo essentially is no different from cable companies, which are subject to limitations on freely transmitting programming under the Copyright Act.  For additional information on this story, please read the recent Reed Smith Client Alert written by Brad R. Newberg.