FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC v. AEREOKILLER, LLC

No. 15-56420.

851 F.3d 1002 (2017)

FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Fox Broadcasting Company, Inc.; NBC Universal Media, LLC; Universal Network Television, LLC; Open 4 Business Productions, LLC; NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV) Inc; American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.; ABC Holding Company, Inc.; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; CBS Broadcasting Inc.; CBS Studios Inc.; Big Ticket Television, Inc.; Telemundo Network Group LLC; WNJU-TV Broadcasting LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. AEREOKILLER, LLC; Alkiviades David; Filmon.tv Networks, Inc.; Filmon.tv, Inc.; Filmon.com, Inc.; Filmon X, LLC; Does, 1-3, inclusive, Defendants-Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Filed March 21, 2017.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Neal Katyal , Hogan Lovells US LLP, Washington, DC, argued the cause and filed the briefs for the plaintiffs-appellants. With him on the brief was Thomas P. Schmidt , Hogan Lovells US LLP, New York, NY; Matthew A. Shapiro and Frederick Liu , Hogan Lovells US LLP, Washington, DC; Paul Smith , Jenner & Block LLP, New York, NY; Richard L. Stone and Julie A. Shepard , Jenner & Block LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Ronald L. Johnston , John C. Ulin , James S. Blackburn , and Eric D. Mason , Arnold & Porter LLP, Los Angeles, CA; and Robert Alan Garrett and Murad Hussain , Arnold & Porter LLP, Washington, DC.

Ryan Geoffrey Baker , Baker Marquart LLP, Los Angeles, CA, argued the cause and filed the brief for the defendants-appellees. With him on the brief was Scott M. Malzahn , Baker Marquart LLP, Los Angeles, CA.

Duncan W. Crabtree-Ireland , SAG-AFTRA, Los Angeles, CA, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae Screen Actors Guild-America Federation of Television and Radio Artists; Directors Guild of America, Inc.; and Writers Build of America, West, Inc., in support of the plaintiffs-appellants. With him on the brief was Danielle S. Van Lier , SAG-AFTRA, Los Angeles, CA; David B. Dreyfus , Directors Guild of America, Inc., Los Angeles, CA; and Anthony R. Segall , Writers Guild of America, West, Inc., Los Angeles, CA.

Jay A. Rosenthal and J. Matthew Williams , Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, Washington, DC, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; Broadcast Music, Inc.; The National Music Publishers' Association; The Recording Industry Association of America; The Recording Academy; and SESAC, Inc. in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Geoffrey Manne , International Center for Law and Economics, Portland, OR; and Hans Bader and Sam Kazman , Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae The Competitive Enterprise Institute and The International Center for Law and Economics in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Brandon Butler , Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae Consumer Federation of America in support of defendants-appellees. With him on the brief was Alexandra Wilson, Law Student, Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC.

Eleanor M. Lackman , Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, New York, NY, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae The Copyright Alliance in support of the plaintiffs-appellants. With her on the brief was Keith Kupferschmid ; Terry Hart and Terry Hart, Copyright Alliance, Washington, DC; and Nancy E. Wolff ; Scott J. Sholder ; and Marissa B. Lewis , Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, New York, NY.

Mitchell L. Stoltz , Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA, and Phillip R. Malone ; Jeffrey T. Pearlman ; and Brian Quinn , Juelsgaard Intellectual Property and Innovation Clinic, Stanford, CA, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge in support of the defendants-appellees.

Rodney A. Smolla , Wilmington, DE, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae The Media Institute in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Rick Kaplan and Benjamin F. P. Ivins , National Association of Broadcasters, Washington, DC; Joseph R. Palmore and James R. Sigel , Morrison & Foerster, LLP, Washington, DC; and Paul Goldstein , Morrison & Foerster LLP, San Francisco, CA, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae National Association of Broadcasters in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Brandon Butler , Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae National Federation of the blind in support of defendants-appellees. With him on the brief was Darlene Tzou, Law Student; Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC.

Anthony J. Dreyer ; Jordan A. Feirman ; and David M. Lamb , Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, NY, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae National Football League; The Officers of the Commissioner of Baseball d/b/a Major League Baseball; and The PGA Tour, Inc. in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Susan Cleary , Vice President & General Counsel, Independent Film & Television Alliance, Los Angeles, CA, and Kelly M. Klaus and David J. Feder , Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Los Angeles, CA, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae Paramount Pictures Corporation; Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.; and Independent Film & Television Alliance in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Ralph Oman , Pravel Professorial Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Patent Law, George Washington University Law School, Former Register of Copyrights of the United States of America, Washington, DC, filed a brief on behalf of amici curiae on his own behalf in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Cory L. Andrews & Mark S. Chenoweth , Washington Legal Foundation, Washington, DC, filed a brief on behalf of Washington Legal Foundation in support of the plaintiffs-appellants.

Before: Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and Consuelo M. Callahan, Circuit Judges.


OPINION

We must decide whether a service that captures copyrighted works broadcast over the air, and then retransmits them to paying subscribers over the Internet without the consent of the copyright holders, is a "cable system" eligible for a compulsory license under the Copyright Act.

I

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