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
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
Alki Davids FilmOn Is Suing Barry Dillers Aereo 
