Fox Broadcasting Company filed for a preliminary injunction against Dish offering Auto Hop to its subscribers in U.S. District Court in Central California on Wednesday, saying that the feature is likely to cause substantial financial harm to Fox, and that Fox is likely to prevail in its claims against Dish.
Legal papers filed by Fox accuse Dish of issuing a software update for Auto Hop that "made cosmetic changes" to the service's settings "in an attempt to camouflage the copyright infringement that Dish commits every night with its service."
"The need for a preliminary injunction could not be greater," Fox's court filing reads, adding that Auto Hop cuts "the legs out from under the advertiser-supported broadcast television business model."
Fox, which filed suit against Dish in May, claims that the Auto Hop feature infringes on the network's copyright. NBC, CBS and ABC also filed suit at the same time.
Dish has countered that Auto Hop is simply a more sophisticated version of the fast-forward feature found on VCRs.
