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Satellite TV News FilmOn gains major victory over broadcasters — for now

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FilmOn gains major victory over broadcasters — for now
A federal judge in the US has declared that the FilmOn over-the-top (OTT) service could 'potentially' be entitled to a compulsory licence to stream broadcasters' signals over the Internet.


The ruling sets up a high-stakes appellate showdown with broadcasters; if the judge's opinion survives scrutiny on appeal, it means that CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC would have to license their programming to FilmOn and other OTT providers at a fair rate.

District Judge George Wu in Los Angeles said in his ruling that FilmOn is entitled to a compulsory licence under the Copyright Act to retransmit the broadcasters' programmes, and said that given the ramifications of his decision, would allow immediate appeal to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The injunction against FilmOn X's operations that the broadcasters had won in 2012 remains in place for now.

"The broadcasters have been trying to keep their foot on the throat of innovation," said FilmOn X's lawyer, Ryan Baker, in an interview with *** Reuters. "The court's decision today is a win for technology and for the American public."

Fox Networks said the opinion "contravenes all legal precedent", and vowed to appeal.
 

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