Redlasso Suspends Video-Clipping Following Lawsuit

NBC Universal, Fox Television Stations filed suit vs. video-clip-sharing site.

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/25/2008 12:41:00 PM

Following a lawsuit from NBC Universal and Fox Television Stations, video-clip-sharing site Redlasso said it is suspending usage to its beta site.

The site allows members to search archived video clips of networks, including local stations and cable channels, and then clip and embed those clips on outside Web sites.

“We are very disappointed in the actions of select networks. We believe we have always acted within the law and have been respectful of the networks’ rights,” said Ken Hayward, CEO of Redlasso, in a statement.

“Redlasso’s goal is to develop a platform that provides content owners and bloggers a viable solution to tracking and monetizing content online, not to engage in lawsuits,” he added. “In the eight months the beta site has been in operation, we have built wide brand awareness and equity among the blogger and media communities. The widespread use of our tools and platform demonstrates that the Redlasso model is a simple and elegant solution for all content owners to track and monetize content usage on the Web -- content that would otherwise be untraceably spread across the Internet and used for free.”

The company added that it will continue to try to negotiate with the networks to resolve the issue.

The company brought in former CBS CEO Michael Jordan in May to act as a liaison between to the networks in an attempt to ward off a lawsuit.

While Redlasso’s beta site may no longer be accessible to bloggers, the company said it will continue to operate its business and radio-to-Web clients. Those services utilize Redlasso technology to clip and search for clips internally, and not for dissemination online.