A little over a week after the companies behind every major New York TV station filed lawsuits against Aereo, alleging copyright infringement, the streaming TV startup has filed a countersuit.
Reuters reports that Aereo, which is set to launch its service this week in New York, is seeking a declaration that it does not infringe on the broadcasters’ copyrights.
In a keynote address Sunday at SXSW, Barry Diller, whose company IAC/Interactive is behind Aereo, predicted that the streaming TV service would be available in 75 to 100 cities within a year. He also added that he expects there to be “a great fight” between Aereo and established broadcasters such as Fox and CBS.
Aereo argues that its service does not infringe on broadcasters’ copyrights since it only streams content that viewers are legally entitled to access via satellite.
“Aereo’s business rests on three very well established legal principles: the consumers’ right to access broadcast television, their right to record unique copies of broadcasts for personal use and their right to use remotely located equipment to make their private copies,” the company said in a statement today. “We firmly believe that Aereo’s technology is lawful. We are confident in the legal process, and we look forward to a prompt resolution of these meritless lawsuits.”
Here’s a copy of Aereo’s countersuit…
[Reuters, Bloomberg]