FilmOn and Aero Sue Aereo for Copyright Infringement, Calls Kettle Black - The UpStream

FilmOn and Aero Sue Aereo for Copyright Infringement, Calls Kettle Black

posted Sunday Feb 24, 2013 by Nicholas DiMeo

FilmOn and Aero Sue Aereo for Copyright Infringement, Calls Kettle Black

Remember Aereo, the rebel company that chose to go the route of streaming over-the-air broadcasts to out-of-market customers for a monthly rate? Yes, we appreciate the gusto and courage it takes to go head-to-head against all of the broadcast companies at once. So when we heard that Aereo was in another lawsuit, we asked, "who is it now?" Needless to say we were surprised to find out that it actually wasn't a broadcast company trying to sue them this week.

Instead, FilmOn, a company who does the exact same thing as Aereo, is suing the company for copyright infringement. FilmOn says that Aereo allegedly violated FilmOn trademarks and has taken on a style that is too similar to that of FilmOn, who claims rights to "Aero," which is the name of their service. You may know of a device called the WinTV-Aero-m, which is made by Hauppauge Computer Works, but the difference is that device has permission to use the "Aero" phrase from FilmOn. The lawsuit says that Aereo was "seeking to unfairly capitalize on the success of WinTV-Aero-m and the name 'Aero,' Defendant Aereo devised a scheme to start a competing business."

You can hit the source link below to check out the full complaint. For now, it just seems like this is simply a bitter, back-and-forth type of lawsuit. In the end, it may be found that both of these companies are doing illegal things in the eyes of the courts, so why go at each other? Doesn't all of this seem a bit strange? If two companies, who do the same thing, and are being sued by the same broadcast companies, would work together instead of sue each other, perhaps we'd have a stronger rebel force to go against the Empire.*

*"Empire" and "Rebel" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lucas Arts/Disney in the United States and other countries. Lucas Arts/Disney and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.

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