We must say we were torn when we heard about the case of ivi TV, which has just countersued a bunch of big media firms in the US, after getting cease and desist orders from them.
Ivi says that its business model is the same as cable TV, except of course that it’s over the internet, and being that it doesn’t need to pay for the cable infrastructure, or as it happens, the content, it is able to offer the service for $5 a month.
It has had cease and desists notices from copyright conglomerates, including NBC-Universal, CBS, Disney, ABC, Fox, Major League Baseball, Twentieth Century Fox and a number of local TV stations.
It’s not anyone’s business that it has no costs to pay for its cable, but it also has no local franchise fees, and pays no carriage fees to these major content producers. If we say that cable and IPTV franchise fees are for digging holes in the ground and civil access, then we can see no reason why we should expect the US ‘must carry’ rules not to apply to it and perpetuate the local TV stations in any given area. But if it is doing anything other than that, and it appears to be carrying national broadcast networks without paying affiliate fees, or it is picking and choosing the best content from multiple local TV stations, then it will be in breach of copyright and be forced out of business.
ivi says it is willing to meet with broadcasters to begin a constructive dialogue, but only about them implementing ivi’s proprietary technology. It has now file a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment of Copyright Noninfringement in the US District Court in Seattle, Washington to discourage further litigation.
In that ivi says that it is legally operating under US Copyright Law and claims that the Copyright Act expressly authorizes secondary transmissions of copyrighted works embodied in primary transmissions as long as statutory licensing fees are paid periodically to the Register of Copyrights, which it says it does. The system works with a Mac, Windows or Linux PC.
We think that if ivi is allowed to continue operating, then with the publicity of this case, it will lead to copycats and the systematic disintegration of TV services in the US. So it’s going to be sued out of business. Right?