Marko Zoretic and Adam Copeland Examine the Applicability of the Federal Communications Act to Internet Streaming in Bloomberg Law Article

Knobbe Martens partner Marko Zoretic and associate Adam Copeland authored the article “Unlicensed Public Internet Streaming Is a Legal Work in Progress” for Bloomberg Law.

Owners of television programs have long used the Federal Communication Act’s (FCA) prohibitions on wire piracy and radio piracy to collect money damages from those who steal cable and satellite signals to access those programs.  There is now, however, a growing prevalence of using these same statutory prohibitions against commercial establishments (e.g., restaurants and bars) who lawfully receive this programming via the internet but neglect to pay the commercial licensing fee required to display the programming to their patrons. 

In the article, Zoretic and Copeland explore the split among district courts as to the FCA’s applicability to internet streaming as well as the range of damages the FCA could provide.

Read the full article here.