MAI Photo News Agency v. American Broadcasting Co.

2001 WL 180020 (2001)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

MAI Photo News Agency v. American Broadcasting Co.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
2001 WL 180020 (2001)

Facts

MAI Photo News Agency, Inc. and its principal, Greg Mathieson (collectively, Mathieson) (plaintiff), granted a license to American Broadcasting Company, Inc. (ABC) (defendant) to use video footage owned by Mathieson of military operations in Iraq. The license agreement authorized ABC to use Mathieson’s video recordings in the ABC program Peter Jennings Reporting (program) “as distributed two times worldwide in all media now known and hereafter conceived or created.” The agreement required ABC to compensate Mathieson at a rate of $40 per second of video used. Mathieson sent ABC two tapes containing footage in which ABC had expressed interest. ABC made working copies of the tapes, transferring the video from VHS to Beta format for purposes of ABC’s production needs. ABC used 85 seconds of Mathieson’s footage in the program and sent Mathieson a check for $3,400 (85 seconds times $40). ABC aired the program in June 1997, and at the end of the broadcast, ABC announced that viewers could purchase a copy of the program for $29.95. ABC then sold 248 copies of the program. ABC rebroadcast the program in December 1997 but omitted Mathieson’s footage, apparently because Mathieson had threatened legal action against ABC. Mathieson eventually filed suit, arguing, among other things, that ABC exceeded the scope of the license agreement and infringed Mathieson’s copyrights by making working copies of the tapes and by distributing the program on home video. ABC moved for summary judgment.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Knapp, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership