FIRST OFF . . .

Closer to home, the owners of an Inglewood video store have been sued by the Rev. Jesse Jackson for allegedly selling unauthorized copies of the “Common Ground” speech Jackson made to the Democratic National Convention last summer. The federal copyright infringement case asks that the court prohibit sales of the Jackson video at the Inglewood store and award the former Democratic presidential candidate unspecified punitive damages. The suit named Charles Cordell Conrad and Dezella Banks, owners of the Cable Via Satellite store, as defendants, but Conrad told the Associated Press that he has never sold the tapes. He said the tapes may have been sold by Banks, who he said was an independent contractor who was “selling things on his own.” Banks could not be reached for comment, but Conrad said his associate was complying with Jackson’s request to stop selling copies of the speech.