On June 25, 2013 SCOTUS finally put its foot down on the most extreme of the "cable cutters". Aereo provided customers with the ability to stream broadcast television programs, only a few seconds behind the live program, by connecting to small antennas housed in a centralized warehouse. SCOTUS found that this equated to "performing" copyrighted works and performing them in "public" within the meaning of the Copyright Act.
The court's 6-3 decision reverses a lower court ruling on what has been a hotly contested issue.
The plaintiffs in the case were TV producers, marketers and broadcasters who said Aereo violated their copyrights by streaming programs online without a license. The court ruled, "Aereo performs petitioners' works publicly." The justices said the company is similar to a cable TV provider, selling a service that "allows subscribers to watch television programs, many of which are copyrighted, virtually as they are being broadcast."
Aereo has since announced that it would suspend operations. However, they hope to remain functional by utilizing a different business method. Read the full SCOTUS decision here.