A US district court has granted the first preliminary injunction against Aereo out of the patchwork of lawsuits against the company, handing broadcasters their first clear win ahead of a Supreme Court fight. A decision by Judge Dale A. Kimball of the District Court of Utah on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction sought by broadcasters. He also denied Aereo’s motion to transfer the case but granted its motion to stay proceedings until the Supreme Court rules on the case later this year.
All good things come to an end: despite largely winning the war over its right to rebroadcast OTA TV signals over the internet, Aereo just lost its first major battle. The US District Court of Utah has granted a preliminary injunction against the service, effectively halting the company’s expansion in the area. The decision teetered over what the court calls the “balance of harm,” with each company claiming that the other’s actions could irreparably damage its business in a significant way. Undeterred by Aereo’s insistence that an injunction would devastate its own business, the court ruled in the favor of Fox Broadcasting’s concerns over copyright infringement — arguing that the potential damage to Aereo doesn’t outweigh the damage it might cause to its opponent.
