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Aereo's Plan B: Argue It's a Bonafide Cable Company

While Aereo claimed they didn't have a plan B if they lost before the Supreme Court (which they of course did late last month), that doesn't appear to be entirely true. In a letter filed with a lower court, Aereo lays forth their new legal strategy: insist they're a legitimate cable company that shouldn't necessarily be forced to shut down because of the ruling.

"If Aereo is a 'cable system' as that term is defined in the Copyright Act, it is eligible for a statutory license, and its transmissions may not be enjoined," writes Aereo in the letter.

Aereo's effort to stay alive isn't new, and hasn't been particularly successful in the past. Seattle-based Ivi was shut down in 2011 after using loopholes in copyright law to provide a dirt cheap Internet TV service -- provided they forwarded payments on to broadcasters -- eventually.

Aereo's now trying to claim the Supreme Court ruling overturns Ivi's legal defeats, though it's unclear if that argument will go very far. Still, Aereo's putting on an optimistic face for its former customers (whose services no longer work and who saw a refund for the last month of service).

"This has been a challenging journey for our team, but your support has continued to lift and propel us forward," the company said this week in an e-mail to former users. "We remain committed to building great technologies that create real, meaningful alternatives for consumers."

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IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

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IPPlanMan

Member

Rising from the ashes?

Go Aereo!