Hollywood Studios Kill 'Family Friendly' DVD Service

[romantico]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 2:48pm

A coalition of Hollywood studios has scored a victory against a company that has been marketing and distributing films stripped of objectionable content.

In November, Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Disney, Universal and Fox filed a lawsuit against Family Edited DVDS, Inc. and its leader, John Webster, with claims that the company took such movies as Iron Man 2, The Hurt Locker, Prince of Persia and Date Night, altered them, and was distributing them to consumers as "family-friendly." The studios alleged that by selling its films in DVD-R format and stripping away copyright protection measures, the company had violated copyright laws and made them susceptible to further infringement by pirates.

The parties have come to a settlement.

According to the terms of the agreement, Family Edited DVDS has agreed to pay $274,000 to resolve the claim. Per the agreement, a judge has also permanently enjoined the company from further distribution of unauthorized edited versions of its films.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/thr-esq/hollywood-studios-kill-family-friendly-160709

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 3:55pm

If it's that important for people to not see nudity or hear naughty words, why can't they just wait until the movies are show on network tv or TBS?

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 4:20pm

Or just, you know, don't let their kids watch them.

[romantico]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 4:49pm

What was so bad in Iron Man 2 that they had to edit out? Wasn't Prince of Persia a Disney movie rated PG? I bet these people who edit things out of these movies are OK with violence. I bet they felt there was no reason to edit The Passion of the Christ.Frankly, I think they got off way too easy. I would made the fine a lot higher than $274,000.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 4:59pm

I'm confused. Was the suit only filed because they were distributing the DVDs in DVD-R format? Did they have permission to edit the titles?

And aren't there still ways around copying a copy protected DVD?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 5:13pm

No, they didn't have permission to edit them. Yes, there are ways around copy-protection - and yes, you can legally make a copy of your own dvds for yourself - but it's still illegal to sell them.

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/25/11 at 5:14pm

"Or just, you know, don't let their kids watch them."

Exactly.