As the Supreme Court looms, Justice Department backs broadcasters v. Aereo

Tiny antenna-toting Aereo will finally have a Supreme Court date this April in its ongoing battle against major TV broadcast companies. And while the cable disruptor will enter that trial on the heels of numerous smaller court victories, today the feds appear to be siding with the major corporations.

Re/code reports that the Justice Department has formally backed broadcasters through a Supreme Court filing made Monday (PDF). The general argument made by Justice Department lawyers will be familiar to anyone following the case to this point: they argue that Aereo’s streaming service infringes on broadcast copyrights, meaning the lower court decisions should be reversed. In terms of reasoning, the department believes Aereo gives consumers “access to copyrighted content in the first instance," something traditionally only provided by broadcasters. And at the same time, Aereo doesn't pay licensing fees like the others offering this first instance.

For the basic setup of Aereo's system: the company catches free over-the-air TV with tiny antennas, renting one to each user, and then transmitting live TV shows over the Internet. According to Aereo, that allows the company to avoid paying the "retransmission fees" that cable companies pay to TV networks. Major TV networks view it as an illegal copyright dodge around copyright rules, leading to the Supreme Court date on April 22. Rest assured, Ars will continue to follow and report on the situation throughout. (Tech Policy Editor Joe Mullin calls the upcoming trial "the biggest copyright fight in 2014, without a doubt.")