QUESTION PRESENTED:

A copyright holder possesses the exclusive right "to perform the copyrighted work publicly." 17 U.S.C. §106(4). In the Copyright Act of 1976, Congress defined the phrase "[t]o perform ... 'publicly'" to include, among other things, "to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work ... to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times." Id. §101.
Congress enacted that provision with the express intent to bring within the scope of the public-performance right services that retransmit over-the-air television broadcasts to the public. Respondent Aereo offers just such a service. Aereo captures over-the-air television broadcasts and, without obtaining authorization from or compensating anyone, retransmits that programming to tens of thousands of members of the public over the Internet for a profit. According to the Second Circuit, because Aereo sends each of its subscribers an individualized transmission of a performance from a unique copy of each copyrighted program, it is not transmitting performances "to the public," but rather is engaged in tens of thousands of "private" performances to paying strangers.

The question presented is:
Whether a company "publicly performs" a copyrighted television program when it retransmits a broadcast of that program to thousands of paid subscribers over the Internet.

Merit Briefs

• Brief for Petitioners, ABC Inc. et al
• Brief for Respondent, Aereo, Inc.
• Reply Brief for Petitioners, ABC Inc. et al

Amicus Briefs

• Brief for American Intellectual Property Law Association in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Sesac, Inc., The Recording Academy, The Songwriters Guild of America, Inc. (SGA), The Church Music Publishers Association (CMPA), The Nashville Songwriters Association, International (NSAI), and Soundexchange, Inc. in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Cablevision Systems Corporation in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Copyright Alliance and Various Professors in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for the International Center for Law & Economics and the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI); Asociación Mexicana De Productores De Fonogramas Y Videogramas (Amprofon); Association Littéraire Et Artistique Internationale Du Canada (Alai Canada); Australian Copyright Council (Acc); British Copyright Council (Bcc); Canadian Media Production Association (Cmpa); International Confederation Of Music Publishers (Icmp); International Confederation Of Societies Of Authors And Composers (Cisac); International Federation Of Actors (Fia); International Federation Of Musicians (Fim); Music Canada; Society Of Composers, Authors And Music Publishers Of Canada (Socan); International Copyright Scholars, Et Al., In Support Of Petitioners
• Brief for the Media Institute in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for the National Association of Broadcasters, the ABC Television Affiliates Association, the CBS Television Network Affiliates Association, the NBC Television Affiliates, and the FBC Television Affiliates Association, in Support of Petitioners and Reversal
• Brief for National Football League and Major League Baseball in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for the New York Intellectual Property Law Association in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Professors Peter S. Menell and David Nimmer in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Ralph Oman, Former Register of Copyrights of the United States in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Directors Guild of America, Inc., Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Time Warner Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for the United States in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Viacom Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Independent Film & Television Alliance, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC, The National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-The Broadcasting and Cable Television Workers Sector of the Communications Workers of America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters In Support of Petitioners
• Brief for Washington Legal Foundation in Support of Petitioners
• Brief for 36 Intellectual Property and Copyright Law Professors in Support of Respondent
• Brief for American Cable Association in Support of Respondent
• Brief for Competition Law Professors, Southwestern Law Student Andrew Pletcher, And Professor Michael M. Epstein, in Association with the Amicus Project at Southwestern Law School, in Support of the Respondent
• Brief for Computer & Communications Industry Association and Mozilla Corporation in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union in Support of Respondent
• Brief for Dish Network L.L.C. and Echostar Technologies L.L.C. in Support of Respondent
• Brief for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, the Consumer Electronics Association, and Engine Advocacy in Support of Respondent
• Brief for Law Professors and Scholars in Support of Respondents
• Brief for Small and Independent Broadcasters in Support of Respondent
• Brief for Filmon X LLC, et al, in Support of Affirmance
• Brief for BSA the Software Alliance in Support of Neither Party
• Brief for Center for Democracy & Technology, CTIA-The Wireless Association, United States Telecom Association, Internet Infrastructure Coalition, Digital Media Association, and Information Technology Industry Council in Support of Neither Party
• Brief for the Patent, Trademark, & Copyright Section of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia in Support of Neither Party