Fox asks appeals court to stop Dish’s ad-skipping DVR, right now
Gee, that’s too bad.
Fox Broadcasting, having lost a key court ruling last month, is more eager than ever to kick Dish Network’s new ad-skipping Hopper DVR off the market.
Last month, a federal judge found that Dish’s DVRs probably don’t break copyright law, ruling that the Hoppers can stay on the market and operate normally while Fox proceeds with its lawsuit. Fox is arguing that it can’t wait, and it says that Dish’s product has the potential to do serious damage to various aspects of the ad-supported TV business. As promised, it appealed the lower court decision and has now filed its opening brief at the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (PDF via deadline.com).
The various affiliates of the Fox media empire originally filed the lawsuit back in May.
“Dish’s unauthorized, commercial-free VOD service is anything but fair, and the need to enjoin it could not be greater,” Fox lawyers write in their new brief. “PTAT [Prime Time Any Time] and AutoHop cut the legs out from under the ad-supported broadcast television business model, devalue Fox’s commercial air time in the eyes of advertisers, [and] block Fox’s own advertising efforts.”
Under a Fox contract, Dish can only provide video-on-demand (VOD) services if it disables any kind of fast-forwarding features. Dish’s PTAT service is being “openly market[ed] as commercial-free VOD,” in violation of that agreement, write Fox lawyers.