By Jeff John Roberts, Gigaom, Nov. 26, 2013
| Aereo's would-be rival filed an unusual lawsuit in Chicago | that hurts the streaming TV service's plans to expand to other | parts of the country, and could provide new ammunition to | broadcasters, which are asking the Supreme Court to stop | Aereo. | | A new lawsuit could keep Aereo out of the third biggest media | market, and also complicates a confusing situation that makes | it legal for Americans in some part of the country - but not | others - to watch over-the-air TV via third party streaming | services. | | The lawsuit was filed on Friday by FilmOn, an Aereo-like | service owned by eccentric billionaire Alki David. FilmOn's | complaint ... claims that a PBS station sent a letter | accusing it of stealing its signal; FilmOn claims its service | is a form of legal private copying, and asks the Chicago court | to declare that it's not violating the Copyright Act. | | The Chicago complaint amounts to a fresh courtroom stunt by | David, a notorious provocateur who has repeatedly thumbed his | nose at the court system. On Monday, according to reports, a | judge in Washington held FilmOn in contempt of court and | called David a "man who is missing couth." David, who was not | in court, told the Wrap that his lawyers informed him that the | judge was "p***ed."
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Neal McLain