Locast Infringes Broadcast Copyright, Judge Rules

The Locast streaming service infringes on broadcasters’ copyright, ruled U.S. District Court in Manhattan Judge Louis Stanton Tuesday in an opinion and order granting summary judgment to plaintiffs that include Fox, CBS, Disney and NBCUniversal (docket 19-cv-7136, in Pacer). The payments Locast requests from users are charges rather than gifts, and exceed the amount needed to maintain and operate the service, ruled Stanton. That keeps Locast from falling under a statutory exemption from copyright rules for nonprofits, the opinion said. “It is of no consequence that a number of users employ the service without paying.” Locast operator Sports Fan Coalition “solicits, and receives, substantial amounts in charges from recipients for its uninterrupted service,” Stanton wrote. Locast had argued that it falls under the exemption because it uses excess funds only to expand the service, but Stanton said Congress could have included the word “expansion” in the statute if that was part of the law’s intent. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which represented Locast, disagreed. “This ruling that nonprofit retransmitters can’t use viewer contributions to expand access will do the opposite of what Congress intended,” EFF emailed Locast users. “Our client is in the process of evaluating the decision and formulating next steps,” said Locast attorney David Hosp, of Orrick Herrington.