Fox News settles Bernie Madoff footage dispute

By Eriq Gardner

EXCLUSIVE: As we pointed out when Fox News filed its lawsuit against a Democratic senate candidate for using unauthorized footage in a campaign commercial, the cable news network has been on the receiving end of several lawsuits accusing it of using copyright owners' works.

In an interesting bit of timing, the media company has just put one of those disputes to bed. Fox News has settled a dispute with the owner of footage of convicted scam artist Bernie Madoff on a yacht.

Kenneth Stadt, who owns the rights to the Madoff video, gave Fox News an exclusive license in early 2009, but then sued after the network continued to air it past the license term. In June, a New York federal judge denied Fox's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.

Now, according to a stipulation, the parties have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. No terms of the settlement have been released.

Fox News is still contending with other lawsuits over use of copyrighted material, including Brad Pitt on a motorcycle and an interview with Michael Jackson's ex-wife.