NBC, Fox file copyright lawsuit against video site

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC and Fox News Channel sued video-sharing service Redlasso for copyright infringement on Wednesday, accusing the website of showing programs like "The Tonight Show" and "The Fox Report with Shepard Smith" without permission.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, comes two months after the television networks complained in a letter to the closely held website that it violated copyright laws by running unauthorized clips and full-length programs.

After receiving the letter, the lawsuit charges, "Redlasso, in fact, did not stop reproducing, publicly performing or publicly displaying the network's programming and content."

General Electric Co's NBC Universal and News Corp's Fox News and Fox Television Stations are seeking a court injunction and monetary damages.

Redlasso declined to comment on the suit. But Redlasso previously said it had talked with the networks about how to design a service that would be useful to Web bloggers searching for news clips while building a business model that safeguards copyright protections.

Facing complaints from the networks, Redlasso hired former CBS Corp Chief Executive Michael Jordan in May to help smooth relations with the media industry.

The service, which has been in a password-protected test stage since November 2007, has proven popular with a variety of bloggers.

Indeed, online video viewing and sharing has boomed across the Web, and broadcasters have sought to avoid the music industry's troubles by closely protecting their content online.

Previously, Viacom Inc filed a $1 billion copyright infringement against Google Inc and its video-share site, YouTube.

Redlasso is a site that enables users -- often bloggers -- to create clips from TV broadcasts and then share them. The service is free, according to its website, which says it splits advertising revenue with producers and owners of the content.

The broadcasters charge that they have no such arrangement with Redlasso and say it has no right to make clips from network programs. Among the programs cited in the lawsuit as having been streamed on Redlasso are NBC's "Today" show and Fox's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."

"Redlasso had engaged, and continues to engage, in a pattern and practice of knowingly, intentionally and willfully infringing on the networks' trademarks, committing unfair competition and otherwise violating the networks' rights," the lawsuit charges.

(Editing by Mark Porter and Steve Gorman)

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