re: Aereo: How can anyone argue this is anything other than theft?

"But they're charging for the rebroadcast!"

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I don't think it's so clear. The networks have the right to a chunk of the spectrum to broadcast their signals, but in return, I believe their broadcasts have to be free. of course, this all started long ago when the technology was vastly different, but if you think of this in terms of the chip (being rented) functioning like the old antennas that used to sprout from all of the houses when I was a kid, it starts not to look like a "rebroadcast" at all. What if the technology gets to the point where you don't even need the relay from the roof, just the chip/antenna in the computer? Where would the "re" in "rebroadcast" be then?

A fascinating example of just how confusing government regulation can get as technology changes.

The funny thing is that we have too damn many laws, generally, but in a difficult, emerging area where new laws might actually make sense, we don't get them.