NBC Universal, Fox News File Suit Against Online Video Site

NEW YORK, July 24:
Redlasso, a site that helps bloggers embed video clips into their content, has
been slapped with a copyright infringement suit by NBC Universal, Fox News
Network and Fox Television Stations.

According to local press
reports, the suit was filed in Manhattan yesterday. The legal action alleges
that Redlasso does not have authorization to carry content from the plaintiffs’
shows, including NBC’s Today
and Fox News’s On the Record with Greta van Susteren. The site allows users to search for news-related
content, clip it and then repost it in blogs on other websites.

The move follows cease and
desist letters that were sent by several content owners to the site in May. "Nevertheless,
Redlasso has made, and continues to make, unauthorized copies of the networks'
copyrighted programming and content around the clock every day," the
lawsuit says, according to reports.

Responding to the cease
and desist letters at the time, a Redlasso statement said that the company
would “continue to make its site available for use by bloggers providing social
commentary on newsworthy events as it continues to work towards cooperative,
mutually beneficial arrangements with those and other content providers.” At
the time, Redlasso also announced the appointment of former CBS chief Michael
Jordan as an advisor.

Launched in November 2007,
Redlasso says it received 24 million unique visits in April 2008, with 10
million video plays.

—By Mansha Daswani