New Boston Television v. Entertainment Sports Programming Network

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

215 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 755 (1981)

Relevant factsFree

New Boston Television, known as WSBK (plaintiff), held exclusive broadcast rights to Red Sox and Bruins games and co-owned the copyrights in those telecasts with the respective teams. ESPN (defendant) rebroadcast up to two-minute highlight excerpts of WSBK's telecasts without consent from WSBK or the teams. WSBK sued for copyright infringement and sought an injunction; ESPN raised fair use as a defense.

IssueFree

Whether rebroadcasting highlight excerpts of a sports telecast, without the copyright owner's consent, qualifies as a fair use.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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