YouTube Sued Over 1992 Los Angeles Riot Video

L.A. News Service, a Los Angeles video news service sued YouTube Inc. on Friday in federal court for allowing its users to upload copyrighted video footage on YouTube, including the beating of trucker Reginald Denny during the 1992 riots.

Los Angeles News Service and its owner and operator, Robert Tur, assert in the lawsuit that in one week’s time, one version of the Denny beating uploaded by a YouTube user was viewed and downloaded 1,000 times via the site.

Tur alleges YouTube is violating the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in MGM v. Grokster. He seeks $150,000 for each work infringed upon and a court order enjoining YouTube from allowing his work to be posted on the Web site. via Link

This lawsuit may well determine the fate (and business model) of several video hosting services like Google Video or YouTube.