Broadcast Suit 'Sham' Aimed at Intimidation, Locast Counterclaims

Broadcasters suing streaming retransmission service Locast for copyright infringement (see 1907310043) are trying to intimidate it into shutting down, or to bury it "under costly and needless litigation," Locast answered and counterclaimed Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan (docket 19-cv-7136, in Pacer). It said the litigation is part of a broader campaign to undermine Locast and chill potential donations, with current and prospective Sports Fans Coalition (SFC) donors and business partners putting that relationship on hold since the lawsuit. It said the Copyright Act is unambiguous about allowing nonprofits to make secondary transmissions of a performance of a copyrighted work. It said claims against SFC founder David Goodfriend aren't permissible since he isn't compensated by Locast operator SFC. Locast said broadcasters are increasingly failing to make over-the-air signals freely available. It said the "sham copyright infringement claim" is part of an effort to limit access to terrestrial TV so consumers are forced to use subscription video. It asked the court to enjoin the broadcasters from any agreement preventing competition in retransmission services. Outside counsel for broadcast plaintiffs didn't comment.