("UPDATE: Judge Temporarily Blocks FilmOn.com From Streaming TV
Signals," published at 3:54 p.m. EST Tuesday and a second update at
4:17 p.m. EST misidentified the company ivi Inc. A corrected
version follows.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A federal judge in New York issued a temporary restraining order
prohibiting FilmOn.com Inc. (2FA.BE) from streaming copyrighted
broadcast-television programming as the big networks intensify
their fight to stop Internet companies from distributing their
content online.
Owners of the major broadcast-television networks are suing
FilmOn.com, which streams broadcast TV stations online without
their consent, grabbing free over-the-air broadcast signals and
converting them to online streams. A similar case against ivi Inc.
could be heard in coming weeks. The Web companies have claimed
their right to distribute the networks under a provision in the
U.S. Copyright Act.
The suspension order on FilmOn is effective pending the courts
deciding whether it will issue a preliminary injunction.
FilmOn said Tuesday that it has "temporarily ceased
retransmission of free network television," but that it expects to
bring the major networks back to its lineup in the near future, as
it has "begun very positive discussions with TV networks affiliates
and other content owners to provide our delivery service and
measurement analytics to stream their live content online."
The company said it received more than 30 million individual
users in the few weeks it provided basic TV access to consumers'
mobile devices.
The TV networks suing FilmOn said they were pleased with the
court's order in a joint statement Tuesday. "We look forward to the
further proceedings that the order contemplates," the statement
read.
Ivi also cheered the ruling Tuesday, saying its product fits the
copyright definition of a cable system while FilmOn does not. Ivi
encrypts and protects the content it delivers, distributing it only
to paying subscribers in the U.S., and it also pays a compulsory
license fee to the U.S. copyright office.
"The court's ruling gives us faith in the judicial system to
effectively separate those operating in good faith abiding by every
letter of the law, and those like FilmOn who publicly brag about
being 'cavalier' towards copyright law," ivi Chief Executive Todd
Weaver said.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240;
matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com