Regarding slates:
LOS ANGELES NEWS SERVICE; ROBERT TUR, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CBS BROADCASTING, INC.; COURTROOM TELEVISION NETWORK, Defendants-Appellees
OVERVIEW: The copyright holder owned copyrights to videotape footage of the beating of a truck driver during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Plaintiffs claimed that a video news service owned by the broadcasting company’s predecessor had distributed the copyrighted works to recipients including the network. The network used a few seconds of the footage to promote news coverage and as part of the introduction to one of its programs. Plaintiffs had agreed to a stipulated dismissal of their initial suit against defendants, but refiled their complaint after the parties failed to reach a settlement. The appellate court found, inter alia, that the district court erroneously excluded certain evidence on the basis of the stipulation agreement. As a videotape of allegedly infringing footage and its identifying slate were not hearsay and were sufficiently authenticated, there was enough admissible evidence to preclude summary judgment as to whether the broadcasting company was liable for infringement. However, the network’s use of the footage was protected as fair use given some transformative use, the factual nature of the work, the small portion of footage used, and market considerations.