Paramount Et Al Amicus Re en Banc
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Transcript of Paramount Et Al Amicus Re en Banc
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUITThurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse 40 Foley Square, New York, NY 10007 Telephone: 212-857-8500
MOTION INFORMATION STATEMENT
Docket Number(s): Caption [use short title]
Motion for:
Set forth below precise, complete statement of relief sought:
MOVING PARTY: OPPOSING PARTY:
��Plaintiff ��Defendant
��Appellant/Petitioner ��Appellee/Respondent
MOVING ATTORNEY: OPPOSING ATTORNEY:
[name of attorney, with firm, address, phone number and e-mail]
Court-Judge/Agency appealed from:
Please check appropriate boxes: FOR EMERGENCY MOTIONS, MOTIONS FOR STAYS AND
INJUNCTIONS PENDING APPEAL:
Has movant notified opposing counsel (required by Local Rule 27.1): Has request for relief been made below? ��Yes ��No
��Yes ��No (explain): Has this relief been previously sought in this Court? ��Yes ��No
Requested return date and explanation of emergency:
Opposing counsel’s position on motion:
��Unopposed � Opposed � Don’t Know
Does opposing counsel intend to file a response:
� Yes � No � Don’t Know
Is oral argument on motion requested? ��Yes ��No (requests for oral argument will not necessarily be granted)
Has argument date of appeal been set? ��Yes ��No If yes, enter date:__________________________________________________________
Signature of Moving Attorney:
___________________________________Date: ___________________ Service by: ��CM/ECF ������Other [Attach proof of service]
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the motion is GRANTED DENIED.
FOR THE COURT:
CATHERINE O’HAGAN WOLFE, Clerk of Court
Date: _____________________________________________ By: ________________________________________________
Form T-1080 (rev. 7-12)
Leave of Court to file the attached brief of amici curiae in support of petition for rehearing en banc.
Kelly M. Klaus
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP 355 South Grand Avenue, 35th Floor Los Angeles, California 90071-1560 (213-683-9238
X
s/ Kelly M. Klaus 04/16/2013 X
Paramount Pictures Corporation, et al.
WNET, et al. v. Aereo Inc., f/k/a Bamboom Labs, Inc. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. et al. v. Aereo, Inc.
leave to file a brief of amici curiae.
Aereo, Inc.
R. David Hosp
Fish & Richardson One Marina Park Drive Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1878(617) 368-2125
Southern District of New York (Judge Nathan)
X
X
X
12-2786, 12-2807
X
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20598521.1
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
WNET, et. al,
Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. AEREO INC., f/k/a BAMBOOM LABS, INC.,
Defendant-Appellee.
No. 12-2786
AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANIES, INC., et al.,
Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants, v. AEREO, INC.,
Defendant-Counter-Claimant-Appellee.
No. 12-2807
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION OF PARAMOUNT
PICTURES CORPORATION, WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, INC., ALLIANCE OF
THEATRICAL STAGE EMPLOYEES, MOVING PICTURE TECHNICIANS, ARTISTS AND ALLIED CRAFTS OF THE UNITED
STATES, ITS TERRITORIES AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, CLC, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD-AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, WEST, INC., INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION
ALLIANCE, AND METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC. AS AMICI CURIAE SUPPORTING PETITION FOR REHEARING
EN BANC
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2 20598521.1
Amici Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment
Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc., Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists And Allied Crafts of the
United States, Its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC, Screen Actors
Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Writers Guild
of America, West, Inc., Independent Film & Television Alliance, and Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. respectfully move the Court for leave to file a
brief of amici curiae supporting Appellants’ petitions for rehearing en banc.
A copy of the proposed brief is attached as Ex. 1 to the accompanying
Affidavit of Kelly M. Klaus (“Klaus Affidavit”). Appellants in Nos. 12-
2786 and 12-2807 have consented to this filing. Klaus Affidavit ¶ 3.
Appellee in both cases, Aereo, Inc., does not consent to the filing of the brief
but has indicated it does not intend to file an opposition. Id. ¶ 4.
Amici and their members have a significant interest in the important
questions that this case presents concerning the interpretation of the public
performance right under Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq. Amici
consist of individuals and production and distribution companies that
collectively comprise the entire chain for the creation of film and television
content. Amici’s members depend upon effective copyright protection in
order to protect the motion picture and television content that they invest in,
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3 20598521.1
create and distribute. The public performance right is among the most
critical rights secured by copyright to the owners of audio-visual content.
The right is especially important, and will only become more important, as
movies and television shows increasingly are disseminated and viewed
through internet streams to the public.
Amici seek to file the attached brief because of their concerns with the
Panel Majority’s decision. Amici believe that their views regarding the
important legal and policy issues that this case presents may be helpful to the
full Court in deciding whether to rehear this case en banc.
DATED: April 16, 2013 MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP
By: /s/ Kelly M. Klaus KELLY M. KLAUS
Counsel for Amici Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
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20598521.1
AFFIDAVIT OF KELLY M. KLAUS
Kelly M. Klaus declares and states, under penalty of perjury under the
laws of the United States, 28 U.S.C. § 1746, as follows:
1. I am a partner in the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP,
counsel to amici curiae Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer Studios Inc. on the proposed brief of amici curiae. Counsel for the
additional amici are listed on the cover page to the proposed brief. I was
admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit on December 7, 2010. The facts stated in this affidavit are
within my personal knowledge.
2. Attached as Exhibit 1 to this affidavit is the proposed Brief of
Amici Curiae Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment
Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc., Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists And Allied Crafts of the
United States, Its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC, Screen Actors
Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Writers Guild
of America, West, Inc., Independent Film & Television Alliance, and Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Supporting Petition for Rehearing En Banc.
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2 20598521.1
3. On April 15, 2013, I contacted counsel for Appellants in Nos.
12-2786 and 12-2807, to inquire whether their clients would consent to
amici’s motion for leave. Counsel for the Appellants in each case told me
they would consent to the motion.
4. Also on April 15, 2013, I made the same inquiry of counsel for
Aereo, Inc., which is Appellee in Nos. 12-2786 and 12-2807. Aereo’s
counsel informed me that Aereo would not consent to the filing of the
amicus brief but does not intend to file an opposition.
DATED: Los Angeles, California April 16, 2013
/s/ Kelly M. Klaus Kelly M. Klaus
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3 20598521.1
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 16th day of April, 2013, a true and correct
copy of the foregoing Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc., Alliance of Theatrical
Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists And Allied Crafts of
the United States, Its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC, Screen Actors
Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Writers Guild
of America, West, Inc., Independent Film & Television Alliance, and Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.’s Motion for Leave to File Brief of Amici
Curiae Supporting Petition for Rehearing En Banc; Memorandum in
Support; and Affidavit of Kelly M. Klaus, including Exhibit 1, which is the
proposed amici brief, was served on all counsel of record in this appeal via
CM/ECF pursuant to Second Circuit Rule 25.1(h)(1)-(2).
/s/ Kelly M. Klaus Kelly M. Klaus
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12-2786-cv
United States Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit
WNET, THIRTEEN, FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC., TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION, WPIX, INC., UNIVISION
TELEVISION GROUP, INC., THE UNIVISION NETWORK LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, and PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
- v. - AEREO INC., f/k/a BAMBOOM LABS, INC.,
Defendant-Appellee. ____________________________
ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
BRIEF FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, INC., ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL STAGE
EMPLOYEES, MOVING PICTURE TECHNICIANS, ARTISTS AND ALLIED CRAFTS OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES
AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, CLC, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD-AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, WEST, INC.,
INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE AND METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC. AS AMICI CURIAE
SUPPORTING REHEARING EN BANC
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KELLY M. KLAUS MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP 355 South Grand Avenue, 35th FloorLos Angeles, California 90071 (213) 683-9100
Counsel for Amici Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
SAMANTHA DULANEY I.A.T.S.E. IN HOUSE COUNSEL 1430 Broadway, 20th Floor New York, New York 10018 (212) 730-1770 Counsel for Amicus Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC DUNCAN W. CRABTREE-IRELAND CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER & GENERAL COUNSEL SAG-AFTRA 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700 Los Angeles, California 90036 Counsel for Amicus Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ANTHONY R. SEGALL ROTHNER, SEGALL & GREENSTONE 510 South Marengo Avenue Pasadena, California 91101 (626) 796-7555 Counsel for Amicus Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. SUSAN CLEARY VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE 10850 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90024 (310) 446-1003 Counsel for Amicus Independent Film & Television Alliance
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12-2807-cv
United States Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit
AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANIES, INC., DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC., CBS BROADCASTING INC., CBS STUDIOS
INC., NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA, LLC, NBC STUDIOS, LLC, UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION, LLC, TELEMUNDO
NETWORK GROUP LLC and WNJU-TV BROADCASTING, LLC,
Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants,
- v. - AEREO, INC.,
Defendant-Counter-Claimant-Appellee. ____________________________
ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
BRIEF FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION, WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, INC., ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL STAGE
EMPLOYEES, MOVING PICTURE TECHNICIANS, ARTISTS AND ALLIED CRAFTS OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS TERRITORIES
AND CANADA, AFL-CIO, CLC, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD-AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA, WEST, INC.,
INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE AND METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC. AS AMICI CURIAE
SUPPORTING REHEARING EN BANC
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KELLY M. KLAUS MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP 355 South Grand Avenue, 35th FloorLos Angeles, California 90071 (213) 683-9100
Counsel for Amici Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
SAMANTHA DULANEY I.A.T.S.E. IN HOUSE COUNSEL 1430 Broadway, 20th Floor New York, New York 10018 (212) 730-1770 Counsel for Amicus Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC DUNCAN W. CRABTREE-IRELAND CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER & GENERAL COUNSEL SAG-AFTRA 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700 Los Angeles, California 90036 Counsel for Amicus Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ANTHONY R. SEGALL ROTHNER, SEGALL & GREENSTONE 510 South Marengo Avenue Pasadena, California 91101 (626) 796-7555 Counsel for Amicus Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. SUSAN CLEARY VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE 10850 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90024 (310) 446-1003 Counsel for Amicus Independent Film & Television Alliance
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CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Pursuant to Rules 26.1 and 29(c)(1) of the Federal Rules of Appellate
Procedure:
Amicus Paramount Pictures Corporation certifies that it is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., a publicly held company.
Amicus Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. certifies that it is ultimately
and indirectly wholly owned by Time Warner Inc., a publicly held company.
Amicus Directors Guild of America, Inc. certifies that it is a California
non-profit corporation doing business as a labor organization; it does not
offer stock; and it has no parent corporation.
Amicus Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture
Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories
and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC certifies that it is an unincorporated labor
organization; it does not offer stock; and it has no parent corporation.
Amicus Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and
Radio Artists certifies that it is a Delaware non-profit corporation; it does
not offer stock; and it has no parent corporation.
Amicus Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. certifies that it is a
California non-profit corporation doing business as a labor organization; it
does not offer stock; and it has no parent corporation.
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Amicus The Independent Film & Television Alliance certifies that it
has no parent corporation and that no publicly held company owns 10% or
more of its stock.
Amicus Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. certifies that it is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., a privately held
company.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
-i-
INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE.................................................................. 1
ARGUMENT................................................................................................. 2
I. Cablevision Expressly Limited Its Public Performance Holding...................................................................................... 4
II. The Court Should Review En Banc the Majority Opinion’s Needless and Erroneous Expansion of Cablevision’s Limited Decision................................................ 6
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Page
-ii-
FEDERAL CASES
Cartoon Network LP, LLLP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008) ............................................................passim
Sony Corp. of Am. v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984)..................................................................................5
WPIX, Inc. v. ivi, Inc., 691 F.3d 275 (2d Cir. 2012) .....................................................................3
FEDERAL STATUTES
17 U.S.C. § 101..........................................................................................6, 7
OTHER AUTHORITIES
U.S. Copyright Office, Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act Section 109 Report (2008) ......................................3
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INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE1
Amici consist of individuals and production and distribution companies that
collectively comprise the entire chain for the creation of film and television
content.2 Amici Guilds and Unions represent hundreds of thousands of men and
women who write, direct, act in and provide below-the-line services for motion
picture and television content. The members’ livelihoods depend on remuneration
for the licensed exploitation of the content that they work to create. This includes
residuals and royalties—deferred compensation based on the continuing use of the
creative works—as works are released in different media. Residuals and royalties
are an important source of income for creative artists and help determine their
eligibility for benefits such as health insurance and pensions. Amici studios and
distribution companies depend on compensation for the public performance of
their works to underwrite the significant costs of creating and disseminating
1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29(c)(5) and Second Circuit Rule 29.1(b), amici state that (i) no counsel for a party has written this brief in whole or in part and (ii) no person or entity other than the amici has made a monetary contribution that was intended to fund the preparation or submission of this brief. Amici submitted a brief at the Panel stage. Case No. 12-2786, Dkt. No. 147; Case No. 12-2807, Dkt. No. 121 (“Amici Panel Br.”). 2 Amici studios and distribution companies are Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Independent Film & Television Alliance, Independent Film & Television Alliance, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Amici Guilds and Unions are Directors Guild of America, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Writers Guild of America, West, Inc.
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movies and television shows. These entities also license the transmission of the
same works through multiple additional distribution channels, including by way of
internet streaming through licensed services, such as Hulu or Netflix. All amici
have a significant interest in the interpretation of the public performance right.
ARGUMENT
Amici respectfully urge the Court to grant en banc rehearing. The Majority
Opinion misconstrues an important and economically significant right under the
Copyright Act. It does so by reading a prior decision of this Court, Cartoon
Network LP, LLLP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008)
(“Cablevision”), to require the holding in this case, even though the Court in
Cablevision expressly said that its decision should not be taken as carte blanche for
future services that mimicked Cablevision’s technological architecture, as Aereo
does. The decision therefore creates material inconsistency with the very
precedent the Court in this case relied on. Further, the decision threatens
significant harm not only to Appellants-Broadcasters but to the producers who
underwrite and the hundreds of thousands of individuals who work to create the
copyrighted works that Aereo appropriates for free. The public performance right
is among the most critical rights secured by copyright to the owners of audio-visual
content. The right is especially important, and will only become more important,
as movies and television shows increasingly are disseminated and viewed through
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internet streams to the public. While the Court properly reserves its en banc
resources for cases of surpassing importance, amici submit this is such a case.
It is undisputed that Aereo re-transmits through internet streams to
thousands of paying subscribers content as it is broadcast over the air. The law is
clear that re-transmitting broadcast signals through internet streams is a public
performance, which requires a negotiated license. See WPIX, Inc. v. ivi, Inc., 691
F.3d 275, 278-79 (2d Cir. 2012). The Copyright Office has emphasized that
businesses that re-transmit broadcast programming without paying the required
license fees “‘effectively wrest control away from program producers who make
significant investments in content and who power the creative engine in the U.S.
economy.’” Id. at 283 (quoting U.S. Copyright Office, Satellite Home Viewer
Extension and Reauthorization Act Section 109 Report, at 188 (2008) (“SHVERA
Report”)). Aereo argues that because it uses tens of thousands of mini-antennae
rather than just one, Aereo transforms its undisputed public performance into tens
of thousands of non-actionable private performances. If Aereo used a single
reception antenna to capture broadcast signals and re-transmit them to thousands of
internet subscribers for viewing, it is undisputed that Aereo would need a license,
just as numerous legitimate services, such as Hulu and Netflix, negotiate for and
obtain to stream broadcast content, including copyrighted movies and television
shows to their subscribers. Judge Chin, in dissent, called Aereo’s system for what
it is: “a sham” and “a Rube Goldberg-like contrivance, over-engineered in an
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attempt to avoid the reach of the Copyright Act and to take advantage of a
perceived loophole in the law.” Dissent at 2.
The Majority, however, said that Cablevision compelled it to accept Aereo’s
argument. Cablevision did not compel that holding. Cablevision involved a very
different service. It was advocated for and decided on different grounds. And the
Court in Cablevision said that its opinion did not provide a blueprint for services to
end-run the public performance right with technological contrivances. The
Majority’s conclusion that Cablevision required immunizing Aereo from public
performance liability based on its architecture thus creates a material inconsistency
between these decisions. En banc review is warranted.
I. Cablevision Expressly Limited Its Public Performance Holding
Cablevision was a licensed re-transmitter of broadcast programming. See
Cablevision, 536 F.3d at 123. Its proposed “remote-storage” digital video recorder
(“RS-DVR”) service was presented to this Court as the functional equivalent of
“set-top” DVR or video-cassette recorder (“VCR”) machines, with the only
difference being that the recording media (computer servers) were located at
Cablevision’s headquarters rather than on top of its subscribers’ television sets.
Cablevision argued that, because the RS-DVR was functionally equivalent to these
home-based devices, Cablevision’s copyright liability should be no different from
that of manufacturers of VCRs or set-top DVRs.
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This Court rejected the copyright challenges to the RS-DVR and relied
heavily on an “equivalence” rationale in doing so. In holding that Cablevision at
most could be secondarily, and not primarily, liable for the copying done on its
computer servers, this Court emphasized the similarities between the RS-DVR and
the set-top DVR. See id. at 132-33 (finding that Sony Corp. of Am. v. Universal
City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984), which dealt with VCR copying, “buttressed”
Court’s “refusal to find Cablevision directly liable on these facts”).
Having found that Cablevision could not be directly liable for copies made
at its subscribers’ request, the Court had to decide whether Cablevision could be
liable for transmitting the recorded shows when subscribers decided to watch them.
The Court concluded, on the very specific facts of the RS-DVR service, that the
playback function did not involve any “public performance” of the copyrighted
works because “the RS-DVR system, as designed, only makes transmissions to one
subscriber using a copy made by that subscriber.” Id. at 137.
Cablevision’s public performance holding was expressly limited. The Court
“emphasize[d]” that its holding on the scope of the public performance right did
“not generally permit content delivery networks to avoid all copyright liability by
making copies of each item of content and associating one unique copy with each
subscriber to the network.” Id. at 139.
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II. The Court Should Review En Banc the Majority Opinion’s Needless and Erroneous Expansion of Cablevision’s Limited Decision
Contrary to the suggestion by the Majority, Cablevision has not painted this
Circuit into a corner in construing the public performance right, but rather left
other Panels of the Court, including the Panel in this case, with multiple ways to
reach a different result. The Majority could have found that Cablevision’s
examination of the legality of the RS-DVR functionality as part of an otherwise
licensed service was factually distinguishable, since Aereo’s mass retransmission
activities are conducted without any authorization from copyright owners.
Cablevision, 536 F.3d at 123. The Majority, however, ignored the fact that the
type of service at issue in Cablevision was fundamentally different from that in
Aereo, and moreover found the absence of a license “not relevant” to Aereo’s
liability for making unauthorized retransmissions. Maj. Op. at 24. The Majority
could have accepted an argument that Cablevision had not “explicitly rejected,” id.
at 26, namely, that because Aereo was transmitting exactly the same performances
of exactly the same works to multiple members of its public audience, it would be
appropriate to aggregate those transmissions and find that Aereo was making them
“to the public.” 17 U.S.C. § 101(2) (transmit clause). The Majority instead said
that it could not accept that argument, because doing so would have required a
different result in Cablevision. Maj. Op. at 25-26. The Majority could have
heeded Cablevision’s admonition that its holding did not provide guaranteed
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immunity for any service that associates unique copies with individual network
subscribers. Cablevision, 536 F.3d at 139. Instead, the Majority held that “the
creation of user-associated copies” “under Cablevision means that Aereo’s
transmissions are not public”; that “technical architecture matters” (even if that
places “form over substance”); and that it was important to validate Aereo’s
reliance on Cablevision in designing the Aereo service, even though Cablevision
made it clear that such reliance was unwarranted. Maj. Op. at 29, 30-31, 33-34.
With respect, amici submit that the Majority Opinion’s construction of the
public performance right is manifestly erroneous and threatens to cause significant
and unjustified harm to numerous stakeholders in the content-creation and
distribution ecosystems.3 The critical questions for Aereo’s liability for infringing
the public performance right are (1) whether Aereo is “transmitting” performances,
i.e., “communicating [them] by any device or process whereby images or sounds
are received beyond the place from which they are sent,” 17 U.S.C. § 101
(definition of “transmit”); and (2) whether Aereo is transmitting those
performances “to the public,” which means any “substantial number of persons
outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances.” Id. § 101(1)
(definition of “perform … ‘publicly’”). Judge Chin’s trenchant Dissenting
Opinion demonstrates that the clear statutory language and the legislative history
3 To avoid burdening the Court with duplicative briefing, amici refer the Court to their prior briefing on the issues of harm in this case. See Amici Panel Br. at 26-31.
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both lead to the conclusion that, when Aereo transmits exactly the same
performances of exactly the same works to thousands of different subscribers,
Aereo is performing the works publicly. Dissent at 5-15.
En banc rehearing would provide this Court the chance to re-set the bounds
of the public performance right as Congress intended, without any actual or
perceived straightjacket from the Cablevision decision. Amici submit that this is
one of the rare cases that justifies the extraordinary use of this Court’s limited en
banc resources.
DATED: April 16, 2013 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Kelly M. Klaus KELLY M. KLAUS
MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP 355 South Grand Avenue, 35th Floor Los Angeles, California 90071 (213) 683-9100 Counsel for Amici Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
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SAMANTHA DULANEY I.A.T.S.E. IN HOUSE COUNSEL 1430 Broadway, 20th Floor New York, New York 10018 (212) 730-1770 Counsel for Amicus Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC DUNCAN W. CRABTREE-IRELAND CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER & GENERAL COUNSEL SAG-AFTRA 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 700 Los Angeles, California 90036 Counsel for Amicus Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ANTHONY R. SEGALL ROTHNER, SEGALL & GREENSTONE 510 South Marengo Avenue Pasadena, California 91101 (626) 796-7555 Counsel for Amicus Writers Guild of America, West, Inc. SUSAN CLEARY VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL INDEPENDENT FILM & TELEVISION ALLIANCE 10850 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90024 (310) 446-1003 Counsel for Amicus Independent Film & Television Alliance
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CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32
Pursuant to Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, I certify
that:
1. This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of Rule
32(a)(7)(B) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure because this brief contains
1,794 words (based on the Microsoft Word word-count function), excluding the
parts of the brief exempted by Rule 32(a)(7)(B)(iii); and
2. This brief complies with the typeface requirements of Rule 32(a)(5)
and the type style requirements of Rule 32(a)(6) because this brief has been
prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface using Microsoft Word 2003 in 14
point Times New Roman type.
Dated: April 16, 2013 /s/ Kelly M. Klaus KELLY M. KLAUS
Counsel for Amici Paramount Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 16th day of April, 2013, a true and correct copy
of the foregoing Brief for Amici Curiae Supporting Petition for Rehearing En Banc
was served on all counsel of record in this appeal via CM/ECF pursuant to Second
Circuit Rule 25.1(h)(1)-(2).
Dated: April 16, 2013
/s/ Kelly M. Klaus KELLY M. KLAUS
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