Internet video startup wins first battle with broadcasters

Internet startup Aereo will be able to continue streaming television shows to its New York City customers despite a lawsuit from broadcasters, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan denied the motion from broadcasters to immediately shut down the video service, but their lawsuit claiming Aereo infringes on their copyrighted material will go forward.

Aereo uses tiny antennas to pick up free over-the-air broadcast television signals in New York City and then transmits the video to its customers over the Internet. Customers have to pay $12 per month to buy access to an antenna, which allows them to watch major network television on their mobile devices and computers.

But the lawsuit, filed by Fox, Univision, PBS and local New York City affiliates, accuses Aereo of trying to use "technological gimmickry" to dodge copyright law.

In Wednesday's ruling, Nathan acknowledged that the broadcasters are likely to suffer "irreparable harm" as Aereo continues to operate. She noted that online viewers will not count toward the stations' viewership figures, as measured by the Nielsen ratings. The service may also poach viewers from cable and satellite services, which pay the broadcasters to carry their channels.

But she concluded that based on the legal precedent on the issue, the broadcasters are not likely to win their case, and it would be inappropriate to grant their motion to immediately block the service.

She said Aereo's service is similar to Cablevision's remote video recording system, which a federal appeals court ruled did not violate copyright law in a 2008 case.

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