Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jul 18, 2017 1:11:35 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/hollywood-docket-vidangel-claims-hollywood-studios-want-kill-filtering-1019966
Hollywood Docket: VidAngel Claims Hollywood Studios Want to "Kill Filtering"
Plus, Fox Sports analyst Chris Spielman is suing Ohio State University and IMG College over the unauthorized use of his image.
Later this month, a California federal judge will consider whether to clarify the injunction that stopped VidAngel's disc purchase-based filtering service in light of the company's new platform, which piggybacks on users' other streaming accounts.
VidAngel announced the $7.99-per-month service in June and was quickly questioned by the Hollywood studios with which it's fighting a contentious legal battle. Disney, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. sued last summer, claiming VidAngel was operating as an illegal, unlicensed streaming service by allowing users to "buy" a disc for $20, watch a filtered stream of that movie and then "sell back" the film for a $19 credit.
U.S. District Judge Angre Birotte in December issued an injunction pausing VidAngel's service while the litigation plays out. The filtering company appealed — and announced its new platform just days after arguing before the 9th Circuit.
The filterer is asking Birotte to clarify whether its new service is subject to the injunction that barred the old one, arguing it has addressed concerns about decrypting the discs, honoring streaming release windows and undercutting other companies' costs. After receiving repeated criticism from the studios in court, VidAngel is firing back — and hoping to use the studios' own words against them.
"One would think that because VidAngel has eliminated decryption, eliminated every alleged harm Plaintiffs offered any evidence at all to support, and based its new system on the purchase of authorized streams from LSSs as Plaintiffs previously told both this Court and the Ninth Circuit it should, Plaintiffs would now approve of VidAngel’s new technology," writes VidAngel attorney David Quinto in a July 10 filing. "Notwithstanding their pious statements concerning filtering, Plaintiffs have now been thoroughly outed that they are trying to kill filtering."
VidAngel also fights the studios' claim that clarifying the injunction would materially alter the decision the appeals court has been asked to make.
"Granting the motion will not alter that VidAngel used the technology it used during 2015-16, and granting the motion will not affect Plaintiffs’ right, if any, to recover damages for VidAngel’s past use of its technology," writes Quinto. "VidAngel’s motion does not address the enjoined service and technology. It concerns only a new service and technology that the Court necessarily could not consider in issuing its Preliminary Injunction Order."
VidAngel had also asked the court to clarify whether VidAngel would be allowed under the injunction to "as a courtesy" stream to about 12,000 customers filtered versions of copies of films they purchased and did not sell back. Disney called the request "audacious" and suggested that if VidAngel wanted to "make whole" the users, it could give them a refund or "mail the users the discs they supposedly own" and those people could use a service like ClearPlay to watch the films with filters. VidAngel on Monday withdrew the motion.
A hearing is currently set for July 31.
Hollywood Docket: VidAngel Claims Hollywood Studios Want to "Kill Filtering"
Plus, Fox Sports analyst Chris Spielman is suing Ohio State University and IMG College over the unauthorized use of his image.
Later this month, a California federal judge will consider whether to clarify the injunction that stopped VidAngel's disc purchase-based filtering service in light of the company's new platform, which piggybacks on users' other streaming accounts.
VidAngel announced the $7.99-per-month service in June and was quickly questioned by the Hollywood studios with which it's fighting a contentious legal battle. Disney, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. sued last summer, claiming VidAngel was operating as an illegal, unlicensed streaming service by allowing users to "buy" a disc for $20, watch a filtered stream of that movie and then "sell back" the film for a $19 credit.
U.S. District Judge Angre Birotte in December issued an injunction pausing VidAngel's service while the litigation plays out. The filtering company appealed — and announced its new platform just days after arguing before the 9th Circuit.
The filterer is asking Birotte to clarify whether its new service is subject to the injunction that barred the old one, arguing it has addressed concerns about decrypting the discs, honoring streaming release windows and undercutting other companies' costs. After receiving repeated criticism from the studios in court, VidAngel is firing back — and hoping to use the studios' own words against them.
"One would think that because VidAngel has eliminated decryption, eliminated every alleged harm Plaintiffs offered any evidence at all to support, and based its new system on the purchase of authorized streams from LSSs as Plaintiffs previously told both this Court and the Ninth Circuit it should, Plaintiffs would now approve of VidAngel’s new technology," writes VidAngel attorney David Quinto in a July 10 filing. "Notwithstanding their pious statements concerning filtering, Plaintiffs have now been thoroughly outed that they are trying to kill filtering."
VidAngel also fights the studios' claim that clarifying the injunction would materially alter the decision the appeals court has been asked to make.
"Granting the motion will not alter that VidAngel used the technology it used during 2015-16, and granting the motion will not affect Plaintiffs’ right, if any, to recover damages for VidAngel’s past use of its technology," writes Quinto. "VidAngel’s motion does not address the enjoined service and technology. It concerns only a new service and technology that the Court necessarily could not consider in issuing its Preliminary Injunction Order."
VidAngel had also asked the court to clarify whether VidAngel would be allowed under the injunction to "as a courtesy" stream to about 12,000 customers filtered versions of copies of films they purchased and did not sell back. Disney called the request "audacious" and suggested that if VidAngel wanted to "make whole" the users, it could give them a refund or "mail the users the discs they supposedly own" and those people could use a service like ClearPlay to watch the films with filters. VidAngel on Monday withdrew the motion.
A hearing is currently set for July 31.