14 DAY TRIAL // Distribution companies that “sanitize” the content of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters are not a new presence on the scene – but another one is about to bite the dust, as several major movie studios have joined forces to take action against it.
Studios like Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Disney, 20th Century Fox and MGM have joined forced against Family Edited DVDS, Inc., which sells “sanitized” versions of films from the above-mentioned studios.
The lawsuit claims infringement of copyright and asks for permanent injunction against the distributor, Yahoo! Movies reports.
According to court documents, the company has taken films like Oscar-winning “The Hurt Locker,” box office hit “Iron Man 2” and “Prince of Persia,” and the critically acclaimed comedy “Date Night,” stripped them of “questionable content.”
The family-friendly versions were then made available for purchase in DVD-R format, which is considered further violation of copyright.
“The lawsuit was filed on Thurday in Arizona District Court against Family Edited DVDS, Inc. and its leader, John Webster,” Yahoo! Movies writes.
“Further, the plaintiffs allege that the defendant is selling its films in DVD-R format, which they say strips away copyright protection measures and makes them ‘highly vulnerable to further unauthorized copying and other forms of infringement’,” the same report informs.
This is not the first time that Hollywood studios take joint action against a company of the kind, the e-zine further notes. CleanFlicks, CleanFilms, Family Flix USA and Play it Clean Video were all named as defendants in similar cases.
“In July, 2006, a federal judge ruled that santized DVDs were an infringement on the copyrights of the original films and ordered the businesses to turn over their inventory. At the time, the defendants pledged to appeal, but they never did,” Yahoo! Movies says.
At the time this story broke, Family Edited DVDS was running a “liquidation” promotion on its website, which prompted talk of how it saw the lawsuit against it coming.
In the meantime, though, it seems that the site has gone offline.