FilmOn Sues Aereo

Alleges copyright violations in an escalating legal battle over the delivery of broadcast signals to Internet-connected devices

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/8/2013 1:55:16 PM

The controversial over-the-top provider FilmOn has sued Aereo for copyright infringement in Federal court in Los Angeles. The suit alleges that Aereo, which is backed by Barry Diller, violates the FilmOn AIR and FilmOn Aero trademarks.

The action expands what is already a major legal battle over these services. Both FilmOn and Aereo are already being sued by major broadcast networks, who contend they are violating copyright rules by offering their broadcast signals to Internet-connected devices.

Last year, Diller also sued FilmOn over the company attempt to market Barrydiller.com and AereoKiller services.

Virginia Lam, a spokesperson for Aereo responded in an email to the suit by noting that "this lawsuit was filed in direct response to a letter that we sent in January 2013 to the attorneys for AereoKiller and Alki David requesting that they stop trading on Aereo's trademark 'Aereo'. We believe that this lawsuit is not only baseless but frivolous and will respond to it, as appropriate."