Alki Davids FilmOn Is Suing Barry Dillers Aereo
Barry Diller.
The Shakespearean legal war over digital television has taken another step towards the preternatural.
Alki Davids FilmOn has filed a new lawsuit in California federal court against Aereo, the upstart company funded in large part byBarry Diller.
Both companies capture the signals of TV broadcasters like CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox and deliver them to subscribers online. Both enterprises have been defending lawsuits against those same broadcasters. Naturally, theres a rivalry between the would-be digital TV titans, which has born some odd triangular litigation.
On Thursday, FilmOn claimed rights to Aero, and that Aereo has taken a moniker thats confusingly similar. The new lawsuit comes six months after David was sued after attempting toredubhis own service asBarryDriller.com and AereoKiller.
The basis for the lawsuit filed on Thursday comes from the allegation that months before Bamboon Labs changed its name to Aereo, FilmOn already had a hold on Aero.
Specifically, Davids company says that it had been distributing a portable mini-television antenna product for Windows equipped computers called WinTV-Aero-m. The product was manufactured by Hauppauge Computer Works, which consented to FilmOns use of Aero. The complaint adds that on Wednesday -- a day before the lawsuit was filed -- Hauppauge assigned in writing to FilmOn the rights to the trademark Aero.
Seeking to unfairly capitalize on the success of WinTV-Aero-m and the name Aero, Defendant Aereo devised a scheme to start a competing business, says the lawsuit alleging false designation of origin under the Lanham Act.
Read the full complaint here.
The lawsuit represents a specialty of theeccentric Alki David-- revenge litigation. After he was sued by the broadcasters, for instance, he turned around andfiled a lawsuit against CBSfor facilitating piracy.
Davids latest legal jab follows the same pattern. In August,Barry Diller sued over BarryDriller.comand AereoKiller, alleging that his own name was being exploited and that FilmOn was unfairly attempting to associate its services with Dillers.
The irony is that while both of these companies sue each other, they have things in common beyond any name-calling.
The major networks believe that both Aereo and FilmOn commit massive infringement by violating the transmit clause of the U.S. Copyright Act.
Aereo has been more lucky on this front,defeating a requested injunctionas the dispute isnow under appeal.
As for FilmOn, a California judge recently agreed to grant broadcasters motion for a preliminary injunction, although it was with the caveat that it applied only within the geographical boundaries of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit -- meaning much of the Northwest. Also on Thursday, the ruling was appealed.
As FilmOn fights for its survival in the Ninth Circuit and Aereo fights in the Second Circuit -- and battle each other in the midst -- the possibility exists for split rulings, whichcould set up a Supreme Court showdownover the future of TV streaming.
For now, David says that despite the recent injunction ruling, his service is doing well, offering the major TV networks in seven major cities in the U.S. And if all that hasnt sufficiently reached the heights of 21st century legal bizarre, David has also announced that his own TV stations have recently reached a distribution deal with Dish Network, the same satellite TV company that is also in the midst of a copyright war with broadcasters.
Personally I blame the lawyers, he says. If it were not for their insatiable desire to create billable controversy we would not be in the situation where I have to spend my time and resources to punish them.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
Alki Davids FilmOn Is Suing Barry Dillers Aereo 
