Redlasso halts blogger service amid lawsuit
NEW YORK (Reuters) - News video-sharing site Redlasso said on Friday it will suspend its video search and clipping service for bloggers as it defends against a copyright infringement lawsuit filed this week by NBC and Fox News Channel.
It will continue to run a business-targeted service that lets clients track and clip content for internal use and a service for radio stations that lets them upload their clips for online sharing.
"We are very disappointed in the actions of select networks," said Redlasso Chief Executive Ken Hayward in a statement. "We believe we have always acted within the law and have been respectful of the networks' rights."
He added, "They have forced our hand and are denying the blogging community access to the Redlasso platform that beneficially tracks the usage of newsworthy clips across the Web."
Hayward said Redlasso will continue discussions with all content providers during the suspension.
Although Redlasso hired former CBS Corp CEO Michael Jordan earlier this year to help smooth relations with the media industry, television networks have complained that the company violated copyright laws by running unauthorized clips and full-length programs of shows including "The Tonight Show" and "The Fox Report with Shepard Smith."
NBC and Fox News were among five parties, including CBS, Fox Television Stations and Allbritton Communications Co, that had complained to Redlasso in May about its service.
Redlasso's service lets users create clips from TV broadcasts and then share them on their own sites. The service is free, according to Redlasso's website, which says it splits advertising revenue with producers and owners of the content.
No such agreements are in place, the broadcasters have said.
"Clip usage by bloggers is an exercise of First Amendment rights to provide social commentary on newsworthy events," Hayward said in a statement.
NBC is a division of NBC Universal, controlled by General Electric. Fox News and Fox Television are divisions of News Corp.
(Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Brian Moss)
