The complaint

Global Weather Productions LLC v. TEGNA Inc., No. 1:26-cv-09477-JPO (S.D.N.Y.), was filed October 29, 2026 (21 pages). The plaintiff, Global Weather Productions LLC, is a Texas limited liability company with its principal place of business in Hutchinson County, Texas, which the complaint describes as a professional videography company that documents severe weather and natural disasters. The defendant, TEGNA Inc., is a Delaware corporation that the complaint places in New York, New York. The complaint demands a jury trial. It describes an earlier suit by Global Weather Productions against TEGNA in the same court over other videos, Global Weather Productions LLC v. TEGNA Inc., No. 1:25-cv-06111-LJL (S.D.N.Y.), and calls this action the second between the parties. (Compl. caption; paras. 6, 7, 10, 12, 80, 165.)

The works

The complaint alleges that two videographers created the Videos and that Global Weather Productions acquired the rights in them by written assignments. It lists twelve Videos, each with a U.S. Copyright Office registration: Video 1, tornado damage in Columbia, Tennessee (PA 2-490-999); Video 2, Hurricane Laura winds flipping an RV in Lake Charles, Louisiana (PA 2-303-758); Video 3, Hurricane Ian winds in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba (PA 2-519-298); Video 4, tornado aftermath in Mayfield, Kentucky (PA 2-339-957); Video 5, tornado aftermath in Barnsdall, Oklahoma (PA 2-490-133); Video 6, debris clearing from Hurricane Helene before Hurricane Milton's landfall (PA 2-505-478); Video 7, surf threatening homes ahead of Hurricane Erin in Rodanthe, North Carolina (PA 2-565-456); Video 8, flooding in Garrett, Kentucky (PA 2-369-591); Video 9, flooded roadways in Bonita Springs, Florida (PA 2-494-948); Video 10, a tornado in Wyoming, Iowa (PA 2-602-967); Video 11, a tornado in Sulphur, Oklahoma (PA 2-198-352); and Video 12, tornado damage in McCall Creek, Mississippi (PA 2-525-926). The Copyright Office public records list Global Weather Productions LLC as claimant, by written agreement, for eight of the twelve registrations. For PA 2-303-758, PA 2-339-957, PA 2-369-591, and PA 2-198-352, the records list one of the two videographers as claimant. (Compl. paras. 2, 24 to 47, 50.)

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that TEGNA, directly and through wholly owned subsidiaries, owns and operates local television stations and the YouTube channels of ten of them: ABC24 Memphis, WBIR Channel 10, 12NewsNow, 11Alive, 13 ON YOUR SIDE, WHAS11, 9NEWS, WWLTV, We Are Iowa Local 5 News, and KENS 5. It alleges, on information and belief, that each channel is owned and operated through the subsidiary that holds the station's FCC broadcast license. It identifies 17 alleged infringements, posted between August 2020 and June 2026, in which TEGNA reproduced and publicly displayed one of the Videos on one of the channels, in some cases as footage for stories on other subjects, such as donation drives and volunteer deployments. It says the posts have been viewed more than 266,000 times in total. (Compl. paras. 3, 4, 53 to 63, 85 to 113.)

The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that the channels display paid advertisements, including through the YouTube Partner Program, and that TEGNA profits from that activity. It alleges TEGNA has known of Global Weather Productions and its rights since at least May 2, 2025, when the plaintiff's counsel served TEGNA with a letter, and that TEGNA displayed Video 10 on the 9NEWS channel on or about June 23, 2026, after that letter and after the earlier suit began. It alleges, on information and belief, that eleven of the posts remained on the channels when the complaint was filed, and says the plaintiff captured those eleven with a web archiving service on October 28, 2026. (Compl. paras. 68, 82, 83, 106, 142, 143.)

Claims and relief

  • First Cause of Action, direct copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. 501, by Global Weather Productions against TEGNA. (Compl. paras. 146 to 155.)
  • Second Cause of Action, vicarious copyright infringement, by Global Weather Productions against TEGNA. It alleges, on information and belief, that the channels are held and operated by TEGNA's station-licensee subsidiaries and by station personnel, each of which directly infringed, and alleges that TEGNA had the right and ability to supervise that conduct and a direct financial interest in it. (Compl. paras. 156 to 164.)

The prayer asks the court to find that TEGNA directly and vicariously infringed. It seeks actual damages and TEGNA's profits under 17 U.S.C. 504(b) or, at the plaintiff's election, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. 504(c) for each work infringed, whichever is larger; an order under 17 U.S.C. 502(a) enjoining any infringing use of the plaintiff's works; costs and attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. 505; and pre-judgment interest. (Compl. prayer, paras. a to f.)