G AND G CLOSED CIRCUIT EVENTS V. ZIHAO LIU, No. 21-56047 (9th Cir. 2022)
Annotate this CaseThe district court ruled that Sections 553 and 605 do not apply when a pirated program is transmitted via Internet streaming. The Ninth Circuit, however, concluded that Plaintiff, a middleman distributor of entertainment display rights, failed to meet its burden on summary judgment to provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact regarding the method of transmission of the program at issue. Accordingly, the panel declined to reach the merits and affirmed on that alternative ground.
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Court Description: Communications Law. The panel affirmed, on an alternative ground, the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the defendant in an action alleging that transmission of a pirated television program via Internet streaming, as opposed to via satellite or cable systems, violated the Cable Communications Policy Act, 47 U.S.C. § 553, and the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 605. The district court ruled that §§ 553 and 605 do not apply when a pirated program is transmitted via Internet streaming. The panel, however, concluded that the plaintiff, a middleman distributor of entertainment display rights, failed to meet its burden on summary judgment to provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact regarding the method of transmission of the program at issue. Accordingly, the panel declined to reach the merits and affirmed on that alternative ground. G AND G CLOSED CIRCUIT EVENTS V. LIU 3
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