Court Ruling Backed Case for Types of OTT Being Considered MVPDs, FilmOn X Says
July's ruling by a federal judge bolsters the argument that stretching the definition of a multichannel video programming distributor to certain types of over-the-top providers is consistent with the Communications Act and Copyright Act, FilmOn X said in a filing…
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posted Monday in FCC docket 14-261. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge George Wu in Los Angeles was that FilmOn X potentially was entitled to a compulsory license under Section 111 of the Copyright Act because it operates somewhat like a cable system (see 1507170024). The court also said the Copyright Office's opposition to extending a Section 111 license to Internet-based distributors "is not grounded in the statutory text or congressional intent, but instead is based on policy views," FilmOn X said. Given that, FilmOn X said it reiterated its support for the FCC-proposed reinterpretation of MVPD guidelines to include some online distributors of multiple channels of video programming.