Oral Arguments Set For Comcast Appeal

D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on BitTorrent-Comcast case Jan. 8.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/28/2009 12:05:17 PM

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has set Jan. 8 as the date for oral argument in Comcast's appeal of the FCC's network management decision in the BitTorrent case.

The FCC found back in summer 2008 that Comcast violated its Internet open-access guidelines by blocking BitTorrent peer-to-peer traffic.

Comcast  took the FCC to court over the decision , challenging the legal underpinning of that decision, as well as the findings that Comcast was in violation, which it said "were not justified by the record."

In its latest filing to the court, Comcast also said the FCC's just-released network neutrality proposal provides more fodder for its argument that the FCC's guidelines were unenforceable.

NBC Universal is an intervenor in the case, likely on the issue of network management as it relates to piracy. Intervenor briefs are due Monday, Nov. 2, according to Comcast.