HIGH COURT SETS DATE TO HEAR AEREO CASE

The U.S. Supreme Court has set April 22 as the date it will hear arguments between broadcasters and Aereo over Aereo’s streaming platform, which allows subscribers to receive broadcast programs over the Internet via so-call antenna farms. Broadcasters contend that Aereo’s service violates their copyright and that if it is allowed to survive, they could lose lucrative retransmission fees from cable and satellite providers. Aereo, however, maintains that it is acting as nothing more than a remote antenna and DVR for its subscribers and is therefore a personal service rather than a public one. Judge Samuel Alito, regarded as one of the most conservative members of the court, has recused himself in the Aereo case because family members hold stock in Disney, which owns ABC, one of the plaintiffs in the case.