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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