Los Angeles News Service v. Reuters Television International, Ltd.

On this appeal we must decide whether, under the Copyright Act, a plaintiff may recover actual damages accruing from the unauthorized exploitation abroad of copyrighted work infringed in the United States; whether defendants’ exploitation of the work was protected as fair use; and whether the *990 district court erred in its award of statutory damages.

BACKGROUND

Los Angeles News (LANS) is an independent news organization which produces video and audio tape recordings of newsworthy events and licenses them for profit. During the April 1992 riots following the Rodney King verdict, LANS covered the events at Florence Avenue and Normandie Boulevard in Los Angeles from its helicopter, producing two videotapes: “The Beating of Reginald Denny” and “Beating of Man in White Panel Truck” (the works). LANS copyrighted these works and licensed them to National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), which used them on the Today show with the logo of KCOP, a Los Angeles station not affiliated with NBC, superimposed (known in the trade as the downstream). Under the agreement, LANS retained ownership of the works and the right to license them.

The Reuters defendants (Reuters Television…