Several Hollywood studios banded together to successfully protect their intellectual property rights from a “family-friendly” company that was redistributing altered versions of their films. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Disney, Universal and Fox filed a lawsuit against Family Edited DVDS, Inc.
In the lawsuit, the studios accused the company of violating copyright laws by selling the studios’ films to customers interested in “family-friendly” versions of the films. The studios also accused the company of making the studios’ intellectual property more susceptible to further piracy by selling the videos on DVD-R format with copyright protection measures removed.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a settlement was reached in the case. Family Edited DVDS, Inc., headed by John Webster, has agreed to pay $274,000. The company also agreed to stop selling the unauthorized edited versions of the studios’ movies. The movies being sold in edited versions and marketed as “clean” included Iron Man 2, The Hurt Locker, Prince of Persia and Date Night.
The studios took similar action against the company, Cleanflix, in 2006. The studios sued the company and caused it to close. According to the Hollywood Reporter, a documentary was made of the studios’ copyright battle that was included in 2008’s Toronto Film Festival.
Source:
Hollywood Studios Kill ‘Family-Friendly’ DVD Service (The Hollywood Reporter)
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