Starz Entertainment Sues Disney for Copyright, Contract Violations
23 3월 2007 - 2:35AM
PR Newswire (US)
Suit Centers on Disney Decision to License Apple, Wal-Mart to Sell
Electronic Movie Downloads Over the Internet, Violating Exclusive
Agreements With Starz LOS ANGELES, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz
Entertainment, LLC, today filed suit against Buena Vista Television
(BVT), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co., for copyright
infringement and breach of contract. Starz filed the suit in the US
District Court for the Central District of California because
Disney recently began to sell for transmission over the Internet
the same movies that Disney licensed exclusively to Starz. Under
the terms of the 1993 and 1999 Starz-BVT agreements, extended by
BVT in 2005, Disney is prohibited from selling its films for
transmission over the Internet prior to Starz's first exclusive
license period and during all of Starz's exclusive license periods.
Despite this prohibition, the suit notes that Disney has "begun to
sell over the Internet via services like Apple Computer Corp.'s
iTunes and (Wal- Mart Corp's) Walmart.com the very same Disney
films licensed to Starz." Such conduct, the suit adds, constitutes
"a blatant breach" of the licensing agreements between BVT and
Starz. The suit notes that over the life of the contract Starz has
paid "over one billion dollars" for periods of exclusive rights to
the films. Starz Entertainment Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Robert B. Clasen said, "Disney has been a great partner. We hope to
continue our relationship. But our agreements clearly prohibit them
from selling their movies by electronic download over the Internet
while they are exclusive to Starz. If Disney is permitted to
violate our contract in this manner, it will undermine the
integrity of copyright in general which is a cornerstone of our
industry." Clasen added, "The film studios have been very
aggressive, and quite rightly so, in protecting their copyrights,
particularly with regard to the Internet. Starz must be equally
aggressive in protecting the value of the deal it made. It is
especially disappointing to see one of the largest studios ignore
so blatantly its own contractual obligations to protect the
copyrights it has licensed to Starz." Clasen pointed out that Starz
has been a pioneer in Internet delivery of films, investing
millions of dollars to develop, launch and market its Internet
service last year. Starz delivers more than a thousand movies per
month -- including the Disney films -- to subscribers via broadband
Internet connections. "We want to encourage consumers to have every
opportunity to access a wide array of films over the Internet,"
Clasen said. "But we cannot allow Disney to sell those rights to us
on an exclusive basis and then sell the same rights to other
parties." The suit notes that the licensing agreements do allow
Disney to distribute its films on a pay-per-view or on-demand basis
defined as "the viewing of a motion picture by a consumer who is
charged a fee to view the film over a limited period of time." It
also permits home video distribution where consumers may purchase
or rent "a motion picture embodied in a video device which is a
physical entity (including, without limitation, video cassette,
laser video disc and DVD)." But the suit points out that -- other
than these clearly defined exceptions -- the agreements prohibit
BVT from licensing its films "for exhibition in any form of
television or electronic delivery." The suit seeks to prevent BVT
"from continuing to infringe on Starz's rights" and asks for all
profits BVT has realized from its infringing activities. Starz
Entertainment is the exclusive subscription television and
broadband provider of first-run films from leading Hollywood
studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures
Entertainment, Overture Films, Revolution Studios, Miramax Films,
Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar, TriStar, Screen
Gems, Sony Classics and Warren Miller Films. Select first-run
theatrical films from The Weinstein Company, IFC and Yari Film
Group are also available for subscription television and broadband
exclusively on Starz Entertainment services. A vast collection of
classic and favorite titles are provided by a wide array of other
Hollywood studios. As one of the largest content aggregators in
Hollywood, Starz Entertainment has access to thousands of
theatrical films that it makes available on the Starz services and
Vongo including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe, Silent Hill, Sin City, The Wild, The Aviator, Hitch,
Bewitched, and Fun with Dick and Jane. Movies coming later in 2007
to Vongo subscribers includes, The Da Vinci Code, Cars, Talladega
Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest. About Starz Entertainment Starz Entertainment,
LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United
States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R)
and Encore(R) brands with approximately 15.5 million and 27.3
million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more
than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers
advanced services including Starz HD, Starz On Demand and
Vongo(SM). Starz Entertainment (http://www.starz.com/) is an
operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital
Group (NASDAQ:LCAPANASDAQ:LCAPB). Contact: Tom Southwick Starz
Entertainment (720) 852-5821(303) 513-3758 (cell) DATASOURCE: Starz
Entertainment, LLC CONTACT: Tom Southwick of Starz Entertainment,
+1-720-852-5821, or cell, +1-303-513-3758, Web site:
http://www.starz.com/
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