Pending decision to send lawsuit against WCAC to trial set for February 

The lawsuit between a local online news organization and Waltham’s cable access channel could be decided or sent to trial in February, resolving questions about fair use of broadcasted government meetings.

The Feb. 26 hearing will consist of arguments from defendant Channel 781 News and plaintiff Waltham Community Access Corp. to decide whether the case should proceed to trial or be decided given the present facts from both parties. 

Both Channel 781 and WCAC have filed motions to decide the case without moving to trial.

“Over the past year, we confirmed through discovery that WCAC didn’t consider fair use in good faith when they sent takedown notices to YouTube. Those takedown notices caused YouTube to shut off Channel 781 right before the September 2023 preliminary election in Waltham, when their voice was most needed,” Mitch Stolz, a lawyer representing Channel 781, said in an email to The Waltham Times. “At the hearing next month, we’ll be asking the court to rule that WCAC broke the law and is liable for the harm they caused to Channel 781’s free speech rights.”

Channel 718, WCAC and WCAC’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comments.

Channel 781 bills itself as “a citizen news service for Waltham” and posts its coverage on YouTube. It uses segments from WCAC broadcasts as part of its video content.

The case between the two entities dates back nearly a year and a half, during which time the defendant and plaintiff have been filing motions and countermotions.

In September 2023 WCAC reported Channel 781 to YouTube, saying that Channel 781 videos containing clips of WCAC broadcasts represented copyright infringement. YouTube disabled Channel 781’s channel in response to WCAC’s report. YouTube’s disablement of Channel 781 happened five days before Waltham’s preliminary election, including a contested mayoral race.

Channel 781 filed its federal lawsuit against WCAC in July 2024, alleging that WCAC knowingly misrepresented copyright claims outlined under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in an effort to remove Channel 781’s coverage. Channel 781 argued that using clips from broadcasted government meetings are fair use of copyrighted material.

WCAC followed with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but the Massachusetts U.S. District Court judge presiding over the case, Patti B. Saris, denied the WCAC motion to dismiss the case on Jan. 6, 2025.

Following Saris’ decision, WCAC filed a formal response to the lawsuit denying the allegations. WCAC filed that response on Jan. 17, 2025.

Then, on Nov. 13, 2025, Jeffrey Pyle, a lawyer for WCAC, filed a motion for summary judgment. He also filed 13 supporting exhibits arguing that WCAC considered fair use copyright privileges before reporting the videos. He argued that WCAC didn’t believe its broadcast clips were covered under fair use because they had been reused by Channel 781 and the copyright reports targeted only those specific clips, therefore not acting in “bad faith” as outlined under section 512(f) of the DMCA.

In a cross-motion, Channel 781’s lawyers denied WCAC’s motion requesting summary judgement, requesting Saris rule that WCAC did act in bad faith and that the takedown notices violated the DMCA. The plaintiff submitted witness depositions, video exhibits and a table outlining how much of WCAC broadcasts were used in each of the 15 clips.

WCAC filed a reply opposing this motion, arguing that Channel 781 cannot prove WCAC knowingly lied about misrepresenting the copyright infringement claims. Additionally, Pyle introduced two more exhibits to supplement WCAC’s motion for summary judgment: an invoice showing payment made to WCAC for use of community meeting footage and an email made by Stolz, requesting YouTube restore Channel 781’s account on Nov. 7, 2023.

The February hearing is open for members of the public and media to listen to by signing up on the U.S. District Court website.