Los Angeles News Ser. v. Reuters T.V. Intern., Ltd.

• Decision Date: 04 October 1996
• Docket Number: No. CV-95-1073-KMW (SHx).,CV-95-1073-KMW (SHx).
• Citation: 942 F.Supp. 1275
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California
• Parties: LOS ANGELES NEWS SERVICE, Plaintiff, v. REUTERS TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL, LIMITED; Visnews International (USA), Limited; Reuters America Holdings, Inc.; Reuters America, Inc., Defendants.

942 F.Supp. 1275

LOS ANGELES NEWS SERVICE, Plaintiff, v. REUTERS TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL, LIMITED; Visnews International (USA), Limited; Reuters America Holdings, Inc.; Reuters America, Inc., Defendants.

No. CV-95-1073-KMW (SHx).

United States District Court, C.D. California.

October 4, 1996.

William A. Bergen, Law Offices of William A. Bergen, Auburn, CA, for Plaintiff.

Louis P. Petrich, Robert S. Gutierrez, Leopold, Petrich & Smith, A Professional Corporation, Los Angeles, CA, Patricia Duncan, Burbank, CA, for Defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

WARDLAW, District Judge.

This matter came on regularly for trial of the question of statutory damages for the infringements of two copyrighted works owned by Plaintiff on September 24, 1996, in the courtroom of the Honorable Kim McLane Wardlaw, United States District Judge. Plaintiff appeared by and through its attorney, William A. Bergen. Defendants Reuters Television International, Ltd., Visnews International (USA), Ltd., Reuters America Holdings, Inc. and Reuters America, Inc. appeared by and through their attorneys Louis P. Petrich and Robert S. Gutierrez of Leopold, Petrich & Smith and Patricia Duncan. Evidence by way of affidavits, written discovery, documents, photographs, videotapes and other exhibits was introduced. This Court previously granted in part and denied in part Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment by Order entered July 23, 1996, and addresses the remaining issues at this time. The matter having been argued by the parties, taken under submission for decision, and the Court being fully apprised in the premises, and GOOD CAUSE APPEARING THEREFOR, the Court does now hereby make the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff Los Angeles News Service ("LANS") is a fictitious business name of Robert and Marika Tur, who together comprise an independent news organization engaged in the business of independent news gathering and production, and the sale of news video, videotapes, photographs and other products. On April 29, 1992, LANS provided live video coverage from its helicopter of events at Florence Avenue and Normandie Boulevard, including the attacks and beatings of two truck drivers. Plaintiff's copyrighted videotape known as "Beating of Reginald Denny" is registered with the United States Copyright Office, bearing Registration No. PA576704, which had its first publication on April 29, 1992 and had an effective date of registration of May 19, 1992. Plaintiff's copyrighted videotape known as "Beating of Man in White Panel Truck" is registered with the United States Copyright Office, bearing Registration No. PA576703, which had its first publication on April 29, 1992 and had an effective date of registration of May 19, 1992.

2. While LANS is an independent news operation, it operates under contract to other news organizations and licenses videotapes of news events to be used by other news operations for television and print media. LANS specializes in utilizing its helicopter for news coverage.

3. The Defendants are Visnews International (USA), Ltd., ("Visnews"); Reuters Television International, Ltd.; Reuters America Holdings, Inc.; and Reuters America, Inc.

4. At all relevant times, Visnews was a television news agency that gathered and provided footage of audiovisual material to its subscribers who paid an annual fee for his service.

5. Reuters Television is, among other things, a television news agency that gathers and provides audiovisual news material to its subscribers who pay an annual fee for this service.

6. Reuters America, Inc. is, among other things, a news and information supplier to subscribers who pay an annual fee for this service.

7. Reuters Television International, Ltd. is the successor in interest to Defendant Visnews. Kogan Declaration, Ex. 35.

8. On April 29, 1992, rioting broke out in Los Angeles, including the area of Florence Avenue and Normandie Boulevard, after the announcement of the acquittals of four police officers accused of beating motorist Rodney King.

9. At the time of the Los Angeles Riots, LANS was under contract to KCOP Television, Channel 13 in Los Angeles to provide live video broadcasts of news events, which KCOP could rebroadcast, and also under contract to KNX News Radio for audio broadcasts. See Ex. 109. As a part of these contracts, however, LANS would retain ownership of the copyright on all the videotape it shot. LANS never sells the copyright for videotape; it only licenses aspects of its copyrights for broadcasts.

10. Upon arrival at the intersection of Florence and Normandie, Mr. and Mrs. Tur noticed that there were no police present and that looting had begun. Mr. and Mrs. Tur began video and audio coverage, which was broadcast live over KCOP Television. Not only did they document the rioting and looting at that intersection, but they captured the events of certain attacks in particular on video, which are now the copyrighted videotapes at issue: "Beating of Man in White Panel Truck," Ex. 26, and "Beating of Reginald Denny," Ex. 25 (the "Video Works"). These were broadcast live on KCOP, with the narrative report supplied by Robert Tur, and the camera work done by Marika Tur.

11. Because the Video Works were broadcast live over KCOP Television, the demand for them from other news organizations seeking to license the tapes was immediate. Before the Turs had landed their helicopter, the news director at KCOP, Jeff Wald, was fielding calls from other news organizations who sought to obtain licenses to use the tapes. Mr. Wald was in contact with Mr. Tur in the helicopter to field inquiries. Mr. Wald informed all who inquired that LANS owned the copyright to the tapes and that all licensing agreements would have to be through LANS. Bob Tur, for LANS, granted limited licenses to the National Broadcasting Company ("NBC") and the American Broadcasting Company ("ABC") to broadcast the Video Works in their news programming within hours after the incident.

12. Bob Tur wanted the Video Works to be seen widely for two reasons. As a reporter, he believed this was an important story that the public needed to know. As a businessman, he believed that if the Video Works were seen over national television, it could create a market for licenses throughout the country to television stations, independent news organizations and news magazines. He decided to license the videotape in a manner so he would not be in breach of the KCOP contract (which prohibited licenses to certain Los Angeles news stations without the explicit permission of KCOP) and still satisfy both goals.

13. LANS, on April 29, 1992, gave a restricted license, the terms of which are disputed, for the Video Works to NBC through an associate producer for NBC named Mike Austin.

14. Mr. Austin knew that KNBC had a helicopter shooting aerials of the developing L.A. Riots. He saw KNBC's footage from the NBC News L.A. Bureau monitor room and believed it to be inferior to that being shown live on KCOP. Watching the live video by the Turs on a monitor side-by-side with a monitor showing KNBC's coverage of the same incidents, he concluded that the Turs' tape was better because it began earlier, had better angles and greater pictures of Reginald Denny.

15. Mr. Tur testified, that, through Mr. Wald, he informed Mike Austin that NBC could license the Video Works for use on its news programs, including the Today Show, with certain restrictions. According to Mr. Tur, Mr. Austin was informed that the license was of 48 hours duration only, KCOP had to be credited, and the tape was for network use only and could not be distributed to overseas broadcasters or affiliates. Mr. Tur told Mr. Wald that a reasonable price for NBC's oral license would be worked out later. This conversation with Mr. Wald took place while Mr. Tur was still on board the helicopter, filming and narrating live coverage of the L.A. Riots.

16. Mr. Austin, at the time a temporary production assistant for NBC News, testified that he heard the terms differently. He stated that no conditions or restrictions of any kind were communicated to him and that he was told only that he would later negotiate a reasonable price.

17. The Court finds that Mr. Austin's testimony on the subject of the terms and conditions of the license lacks credibility. His testimony was inherently implausible in some instances and internally contradictory in others. For example, upon examination by Plaintiff's counsel he testified that although he saw the live coverage by the Turs unfolding, he did not believe "time was of the essence" in obtaining the tape from KCOP. Yet, upon examination by Defendants' counsel, in an attempt to explain why he hurriedly wrote the inscription on the Video Works cassette label "See Mike Austin re conditions of use," Ex. 142, testified that timeliness was important because it was a breaking story. Also, with respect to his notation on the label "L.A. Rioting Aerials/From Bob Tur (KCOPTV) L.A. News Service," Mr. Austin first testified it was made to distinguish the works "from other videos," but later testified that he used the word "aerials" because those were the only aerials he was aware of. Still later, he testified that he had been aware that NBC had shot other aerials at the same time as LANS, but they were inferior to LANS aerials. Finally, Mr. Austin's use of the term "conditions of use" on the label immediately upon receipt of the cassette belies his testimony at trial that there were no conditions of use for the tape. His subsequent explanation that he thought that the requirement of later negotiating a price was a condition or conditions of use is not credible.

18. On the other hand, Mr. Tur's version of the "credit" issue is not supported by the other evidence adduced at trial. Judy Tur's contemporaneous log of communications concerning the licensing arrangements omits any reference to "credits" or "courtesies." Ex. 7. Furthermore, according to ...