Broadcasters' 'Tortious' Conspiracy Had 'Chilling Effect' on Aereo Bankruptcy Auction, Aereo Suit Says

A group of broadcast companies worked together to hamper Aereo’s ability to sell its assets at auction after it declared bankruptcy, the now-defunct streaming TV service said in a complaint filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York Monday. ABC, CBS, Univision, WNET and numerous other broadcasters argued in a series of court filings that Aereo’s network of antennas and other equipment could only be used to infringe broadcast copyrights, the complaint said. The broadcasters ran a "concerted campaign of tortious conduct" that had a “substantial chilling effect” on the sale of those assets in February, the complaint said. During the lead-up to the auction, several prospective purchasers “expressed concern regarding the consequences of purchasing the Debtor’s content-delivery assets given the Broadcasters’ conduct,” Aereo said. Instead of Aereo’s technology being bought by an online video distributor service that could have made use of it, Aereo’s tech was sold “piecemeal” the complaint said. “The Debtor’s patents were sold to RPX Corp., a company specializing in defensive patent acquisitions, for $225,000; the Debtor’s trademarks, domain names and customer lists were sold to TiVo Inc. for $1,000,000; and portions of Aereo’s equipment was sold to Alliance Technology Solutions, Inc. for $320,000.” The value of Aereo’s patents “is highest when owned by an entity actually practicing the technology disclosed in those patents,” the complaint said. The piecemeal sale “forced by the lack of bidders, severely reduced their overall value,” said Aereo. The defunct company is seeking damages to be determined at trial, the complaint said. The Supreme Court found against Aereo in a case concerning its right to retransmit broadcast content, prompting its shutdown and bankruptcy filing (see 1406260071). Several broadcasters contacted for comment on the Aereo complaint declined to respond. NAB declined comment on the complaint.