Related: FCC Chief Says Agency Won’t Revamp Retrans Oversight
Video streamerFilmOn X continues to try to get access to broadcast TV content. FilmOn X (formerly Aereokiller) last week filed the opening brief in its challenge to a Nov. 12 D.C. U.S. District Court decision not to rule its online TV station streaming service is entitled to a compulsory license.
The court ruled that FilmOn X, which streamed on-demand and day-and-date video online, was liable for infringing Fox and other broadcast nets’ performance rights under the Copyright Act and was not eligible for the compulsory license.
The issue is whether online video distributors are effectively multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), eligible for the statutory license that allows them to avoid negotiating for individual broadcast network content. That issue is unsettled, with the Copyright Office saying they aren’t eligible.
And there remains a difference of legal opinion. A California district judge ruled last year that FilmOn X was entitled to the compulsory license. Fox challenged that ruling in an appeals court. Fox’s filing is due Aug. 17.
