Aereo and Copyright's Private-Public Performance Line
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On January 10, 2014, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, Inc. By doing so, the Court has seized an opportunity to bring some rationality to copyright's line between public and private performances. In this pending case, the respondent, Aereo, uses thousands of tiny antennae to capture television broadcast signals, which then transmit the signals to its subscribers over the Internet. The question presented is whether Aereo "publicly performs" the copyrighted works carried in the television broadcast signals that are captured and retransmitted.