UCLA Sued Over Streaming of Videos

After a public copyright dispute in January, the Association for Information and Media Equipment says it has filed suit against the University of California at Los Angeles and the system’s Board of Regents. The association, a trade group that represents 16 educational media companies, objected to UCLA’s practice of allowing students to stream copyrighted videos on their course websites. Since course websites are not classrooms, the group said, the “fair use” exemptions for educational use do not apply. UCLA has said that since the course websites are password-protected, streaming videos on the site is the same as showing them in class, except far more convenient for students and professors. Allen Dohra, president of the trade group and vice president of Ambrose Video Publishing, which is named as a co-plaintiff in the suit, said in a press release that UCLA is undermining Ambrose’s own streaming service, which it offers at a price to subscribers. “UCLA’s behavior spells catastrophe for the entire educational video market, which increasingly will turn to streaming video,” the group said in the release.