"Redlasso is an online media center for bloggers that records video and audio at the request of the participants of Redlasso's private beta from publicly available signals, such as cable, broadcast and satellite television," rep Saskia Sidenfaden explained. In other words, Redlasso servers watch the closed captioning signals for search terms set up by invited users to notify them of "newsworthy" clips and items. The company then distributes those clips from its own servers to embedded players on third-party sites.

Unlike other sites which rely on the DMCA's takedown provisions — under which users can post copyrighted content, but the site must take it down if copyright owners complain — Redlasso is relying on a "fair use" defense, a provision of copyright law which carves out exceptions for some kinds of reporting and commentary. Fair use rules are often unclear, though, and one question that comes up is whether the use unfairly exploits an existing market for the work. Until recently, it wasn't. But then News Corp. and NBC Universal started up Hulu — which also allows for users to search for clips which they can then embed on third-party sites.

A Redlasso investor explained on background that the startup had been talking to the networks for at least two years, and promised them the ability to track and control usage of their clips as they spread across the Internet — something Google's YouTube couldn't, or didn't want to do. Presumably, the company could have sold their technology to the networks, or formed content partnership agreements.

Hulu offers the same control, but it's run by the networks and offers many of the same features as Redlasso to users, though with significantly more limited content. CBS would have been a great target for possible sale, but CBS recently started working with Hulu, too.

Hence, the company's best hope is to strike a deal before too many more lawyers get involved, especially since it's still planning to close another $15 million in venture investment on top of the $9.4 million already raised. (Photo by AP/Richard Drew)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the New York State Attorney General's office are two possible candidates for a fraud lawsuit. A fraud charge could hinge on the manner in which Comcast is disrupting traffic. The technology, provided by a company called Sandvine, tricks computers into shutting down BitTorrent connections. Comcast is, in effect, pretending to be the customer in order to prevent data from being transferred. In New York, it is criminal impersonation in the second degree to "(impersonate) another and ... act in such assumed character with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another."

Somehow we doubt if Comcast will cave to mere bad press — they get kind of a lot of it. Nor are mass customer defections likely. A lawsuit is probably the only measure that would stop Comcast.

Unlike our blog brethren at Gizmodo or The Consumerist, we'd be all in favor of a broadband provider doing anything it likes with its pipes. You don't like it? Go lay your own fiber, bub. And I'm sure AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and the rest are doing all kinds of naughty things with their customers' Web connections. The problem here? Comcast got caught. That's the real no-no.

• Reflecting on an interview with TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington, a Reddit co-founder says the site "isn't serious" — and no one inside the tech bubble understands that. [Raw Thought]
• Why Windows shows you annoying, unnecessary popups: "Not many people have gotten a raise and a promotion for stopping features from shipping." [MSDN blogs]
• Elevator-pitch presentations? Yawn. Elevator-pitch contests? Now there's a chance to make someone cry. And we all love to see a startupper cry. [PR Leap]
• Kazaa, the disappointing successor to Napster, agreed to pay $10 million to music companies in a settlement over accusations of copyright infringement. [NY Times]
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation is representing blog 10 Zen Monkeys in a lawsuit against Michael Crook, who tried to coerce the blog into taking down the photo (Crook on right) you see here. The whole thing started because Crook griefed some sexually adventurous Craigslist users and published their personal information, and 10 Zen Monkeys railed against his actions. What a whiny emo kid. [10 Zen Monkeys]

• AOL says that giving out over 20 million search records from 500,000 users may have violated its internal policies, but it was okay according to the company's privacy policy, according to Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Kevin Bankston. [WSJ]
• The EFF filed a complaint yesterday, asking the FTC to investigate AOL's screw-up. [EFF]
• ZDNet columnist Tom Foremski thanks AOL for adding to the library of modern existentialist work with its "glimpse into the human condition." (Except this time, there's no such thing as The Stranger.) [ZDNet]
• User 1879967, the inventive perv covered in ACUW Volume 11, lives about six blocks from Valleywag reader Adam, he says in an e-mail. Adam, buddy, lock your doors at night. Or send us photos of that creepy neighbor.

Earlier: Volume 8, Volume 9, Volume 10, Volume 11 [Valleywag]

Given the newsworthiness of these photos, there's a strong policy protecting websites that post them for news purposes. Both the Apple v. Does case that EFF won and the Bartnicki v. Vopper case before the Supreme Court strongly defend the media's right to report this kind of information and defend the confidentiality of the sources that provide it.

As to the tipsters, the liability for them would depend on each individuals' circumstances. It's funny, though, that Facebook is the one sending the C&D and complaining here instead of the actual individuals in the photo. One wonders if the individuals even care or perhaps enjoy the additional publicity since they were willing to publicly publish the photos in the first place.

Since most of Gawker and Wonkette's Facebook profile analysis went like "He's a drinker! Mr. Drunky-pants, right there!" — and since these are college students — one guesses "the individuals" don't give a damn.

Earlier: Facebook C&D's Gawker for showing super-secret profiles [Valleywag]

Monday

• Mobile Design: A Lifestyle Approach: Learn about interaction design in handhelds and other non-PC interfaces.

Tuesday

• PBwiki Meetup: Get drunk at the house of this dot-com startup's CEO.

Wednesday

• SV Bloggers Third Wednesday: Hang out at the Cupertino Coffee Society with bloggers from the South Bay.

Thursday

• AIGA Traveling Lounge: Hang out with designers at Martuni's (off SF's Market Street) and, according to the event listing, complain about clients. Should be good for some gossip.
• Third Thursday: Social Media in Marketing & PR: Michael Arrington, blogger at TechCrunch, will speak. So you know every eager startup PR rep is going.
• "Email — Should the Sender Pay?": EFF Fundraiser, Debate Between Esther Dyson and Danny O'Brien: Hear the EFF's Danny O'Brien call CNET's Esther Dyson a tool of the extortionist hegemony; hear Esther call Danny a soft-headed commie luddite. Bring fruit to throw in case they get too civil.

Robots, girls, theremins and 84-year-old war veterans playing dominoes: this is the kind of Bizarro World party that the EFF and Creative Commons hosted at the Elks Lodge #201 in Austin, TX. Entertaining the party-goers, who stared wide-eyed at the freak show, was the Austin Robot Group — the members built robots who zoomed slowly around the "dancefloor" and pinched the behinds of the ladies who dared to dance. All two of them. Audience participation included fooling with four guitar-shaped theremi [thereminae? — ed.], all playing some sort of cheesy music, reminiscent of a 1950s sci-fi soundtrack.

In attendance and in awe at the general weirdness of the night were geekstars Craig Newmark, Ian Clarke (founder of freenet), Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, the ever-fashionable and emo-haired Peter Rojas (founder of Endgadget) and Doc Searls, the granddaddy of us all.

The members of the Elks lodge weren't scared off by the dorky party and sat around as if there weren't 200 geeks running around changing the world. As a special treat, the Elks' drug prevention literature was laid out. Our personal favorite, "The Elks' Tips for Teens: The Truth About Hallucinogens." Check GETV for GETV's video (to see the bum-pinching, you need to squint).

SXSW06: The Robot Group [GETV]