Aereo is a cloud storage provider that allows users that have televisions with internet access to record live shows. This means that they are able to replay anything they like at a later stage. This means they can skip watching advertisements in the same way as they could if they used a DVR recorder. Unsurprisingly, television channels were less than happy with this and they started a law suit against Aereo to have them shut down this service. Aereo won the case and, in a report by EWeek, it was mentioned that
A service that lets you record live television programs in the cloud for later replay does not infringe on copyrights and should not be shut down. That’s the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York in a case that pitted the major broadcasters against a tiny startup company that stores content in the cloud.
This wonderful news for Aereo, but also for others who want to set up a similar system. It is often the big guys who win, because they have more strength and more money, but this time they weren’t able to quash the efforts of a small company. A great victory against commercialization of society!
No More Need for Cable?
So does this mean there is really no more need for cable? It seems that it is certainly a step forward. Indeed, there have been other options available to get rid of cable or satellite television for some time now, such as Netflix, but the Aereo court decision brings it to a new level. With providers such as Netflix, it is not possible to watch any live television, which means you could just miss out on the office talk on the latest episode of some sort of reality TV show. However, now, the situation is very different. As explained by Forbes
The decision is a blow to broadcasters who argued Aereo will undermine their businesses and eventually deprive viewers of high-quality content. If the system survives a likely copyright challenge in court, it will allow consumers to watch TV shows and football games without paying the broadcasters anything, and they can also speed past commercials by exploiting the time-delay feature of the system.
That is bad news for the broadcasters of course, but great news for everyday people who want to watch TV when they want to, in the way they want to. Best of all, the cost of Aereo is negligible: $1 for a day of viewing or $80 for a full year. There isn’t a cable or satellite network out there that can do the same.
The Big Cats Fight Back – Without Success
Unsurprisingly, the networks have not been happy with the court’s original decision and immediately launched an appeal. However, the verdict has now been upheld in court, which means consumers truly are a step closer to having real value for money. And all of that thanks to a very simple cloud storage company. Aereo is all about the small people making it big. The way the work is well described by The Register
Aereo used thousands of tiny antennas at its base station in Brooklyn to pick up TV signals and either store or stream them directly to subscribers in New York who pay $80 a year to watch on their smartphones and tablets. Using individual antennas enables the company to get around paying licensing fees to the networks for streaming – or so the company has been arguing – because it provides a one-on-one link up.
And it seems they have argued their case very well, because the courts continue to agree. Whether or not they will now try for a further appeal is doubtful. At some point, all legal avenues have been exhausted and there is little they can do but accept their defeat.
Consequences
What does matter is what the consequences of all of this are. Since the courts have now decided – twice – that Aereo is not breaching any copyright laws by allowing users to store programs on the Cloud and watch them at their convenience, network operators will have to come up with something else. After all, they make their money through the cable and satellite service they provide to consumers, as well as by the advertisements that people will now be skipping in full. According to Reuters
The television industry is closely watching the case to see whether it could disrupt the traditional TV model. The industry sees Aereo and other similar services as a threat to its ability to control subscription fees and generate advertising income, its two main sources of revenue.
Now that major plaintiffs like CBS, ABC and NBC Universal have lost – again – all eyes are on them. What will they do to make sure that they do not lose their own revenue?
Intellectual Property and Cloud Storage
Cloud storage and intellectual property is always a complicated issue. When you consider a site like Facebook, for instance, you are able to store a whole range of things, including information, files, links, photographs and so on, on what is essentially the cloud. The new decision by the court make the issue of intellectual property thanks to the cloud very complicated. Facebook, for instance, has recently lost an important case themselves, as reported by Bloomberg Businessweek
Facebook Inc. (FB), owner of the world’s largest social- networking service, lost bid to end a trademark-infringement lawsuit over its use of “timeline” and related terms.
Clearly, intellectual property is becoming an increasingly grey area. This is a problem for big developers, but it is a highly positive development for everyday people, the people that pay their bills and have to spend inordinate amounts of money on services offered to them. It is definitely a case of watch this space, because everybody knows that the big developers and network operators will come up with something new to make lives more difficult for regular people, but for now it is a fantastic victory for the Cloud and its usefulness.
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