Dish TV's Hopper DVR was finally made available to its customers in early February after a few weeks of controversy stirred up at CES 2013.
The Hopper made Dish some enemies at broadcasting companies across the U.S. with its ability to skip the commercials on networks like CBS, NBC, and Fox.
Though the networks are still trying to find a way to stop Dish from using such technology, they haven't had much success to this point.
Not content to just let Dish and its customers watch television the way they want contently, Fox has now reentered the legal arena with the satellite cable company over a completely different aspect of the Hopper.
No streaming for you
Though the AutoHop ad-skipping capabilities are what got Dish in hot water with content providers previously, the new partnership with Slingbox is what's drawn Fox's ire.
The Hopper with Sling allows users to stream live television and recorded shows to any mobile device with the Dish Anywhere app.
The set-top box also allows users to download saved shows from the DVR onto devices like the iPad to take on the go.
Fox however doesn't believe its current deal with Dish allows customers such freedom with its content, and is seeking an injunction alleging Dish is violating Fox copyrights.
"Paying Dish for a satellite television subscription does not buy anyone the right to receive Fox's live broadcast signal over the Internet or to make copies of Fox programs to watch 'on the go,' because Dish does not have the right to offer these services to its subscribers in the first place," Fox said in the filing.
Previously, Fox also tried to seek an injunction against the Hopper over ad skipping, but was denied by a U.S. District Court, even though Judge Dolly Gee agreed the feature constituted copyright infringement.
A hearing at the U.S. District Court in California is set for March 22, and it's likely plenty of other spurned broadcasting companies will be paying close attention to what transpires.
Via Bloomberg
