June 27, 2014
By Stephanie West
A Supreme Court decision affecting SAG-AFTRA and their members noted that a streaming service called Aereo, violated broadcasters’ copyrights since it allowing subscribers to watch and record over-the-air channels. The June 25th landmark decision will benefit actors and performers receiving royalties.
SAG-AFTRA issued a statement applauding the 6-3 decision. According to SAG-AFTRA this important ruling sent a clear and strong message that the Court will not permit companies like Aereo to use technical workarounds to evade Congress’ intent to protect content creators and owners in the Copyright Act.
“By adopting a practical analysis that recognizes the extraordinary similarity between Aereo and the cable systems Congress expressly regulated in the Act, the Court rightly focuses on the use of copyrighted works and refused to be sidetracked by the inconsequential technical details with which Aereo attempted to cloak itself,” said a statement issued by SAG-AFTRA.
“But in doing so, the Court properly limited the scope of the decision so that cloud services and other technological innovations are neither inhibited nor limited. This decision gives the creative community greater confidence that copyright law cannot be so simply evaded and restores the proper balance to the system,” said a union press release.
A loss in revenue from cable and satellite would be a major setback for the union and financial loss for members.
