Iowa Federal Judge Rejects Aereo's Subpoena Against Competitor

The Des Moines Register reports that a competitor to Aereo, a firm pushing the boundaries of copyright law by transmitting free broadcast television over the Internet, has fought off a subpoena. The federal judge ruled that Aereo competitor "Syncbak will not have to provide competitor Aereo with investment-related documents and labeled Aereo’s efforts to acquire emails that reference the company a 'fishing expedition,'" the paper reported.

Cases involve Aereo and another competitor FilmOn X have resulted in federal circuit splits on whether their rebroadcasting of broadcast TV shows violates intellectual property rights to exclusively control the public performance of those shows. Many predict the cases will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.