A 512(f) Case Survived a Motion to Dismiss. Guess What Happened Next–Channel 781 v. WCAC

The court describes the case: Plaintiff Channel 781 News (“Channel 781”) is a YouTube-based news outlet focusing on local affairs in Waltham, Massachusetts. Channel 781 posted clips from Waltham municipal government meetings that it believed to be newsworthy. Channel 781 took these clips without permission from recordings of the meetings produced by Defendant Waltham Community Access Corporation (“WCAC”) for the city’s public access channel. The clips Channel 781 posted were accompanied by titles and captioning but otherwise consisted entirely of excerpts from WCAC’s recordings. In September 2023, WCAC sent three notices to YouTube asking YouTube to take down fifteen of Channel 781’s clip videos on the basis that they infringed WCAC’s copyrights. YouTube complied and temporarily deactivated Channel 781’s account. Channel 781 subsequently sued WCAC under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), alleging that WCAC failed to adequately consider that Channel 781’s videos were fair use and, thus, knowingly…