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For Immediate Release
Contact: Rich Taylor
Phuong Yokitis
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
(202) 293-1966
Emily Kutner
MPAA
(718) 518-8800
FILM STUDIOS FILE COMPLAINT AGAINST FILM88.COM
Complaint Seeks to End Unauthorized Copying and Distribution of U.S. Copyrighted Films
Encino, CA (July 9, 2002) - Taking legal action to stop the illegal copying and unauthorized distribution of U.S. copyrighted films, nine motion picture studios today filed a complaint against Film88.com and related individuals and companies behind the Internet operation, including Mastersurf, Inc; Alex Tan and Broadband Universal Corp. LTD. The complaint, filed today in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges the defendants with copyright and trademark infringement.
The defendants are charged with illegally streaming Plaintiffs' copyrighted motion pictures over the Internet without authorization. In addition, the complaint charges that Film88.com purported to base certain of its business operations in Iran, a country that Film88 trumpets "does not provide copyright protection to foreign copyrights." in a calculated effort to avoid liability for its activities.
In announcing the legal action, Mark Litvack, Vice President and Director, legal Affairs, Worldwide Anti-Piracy of the Motion Picture Association of America, issued the following statement:
"These defendants demonstrated a complete and utter lack of respect for the principles of ownership and property. Film88.com, for sheer personal gain and profit, offered copyrighted films without any consideration for the rightful owner who invested immense capital, time and effort to bring the film to audiences worldwide. We must ensure this brazen disregard for the value of copyrighted films is stopped immediately with appropriate penalties levied on all those involved. "
The plaintiffs are asking the court for unspecified damages and a permanent injunction against all defendants.
The plaintiffs filing the complaint include Time Warner Entertainment Co. L.P. (Warner Bros.); Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; New Line Cinema Corporation; Paramount Pictures Corp.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. TriStar Pictures, Inc and Universal Studios LLLP.
A copy of the complaint may be found on the MPAA Web site at www.mpaa.org.
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