Tuesday February 8 5:17 PM ET
U.S. Judge Imposes Injunction Against Canadian Web Site
By David Morgan
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday imposed a preliminary injunction
effectively preventing the Canadian-based Web site iCraveTV.com from showing copyright
U.S. television
programs on the World Wide Web, at least for now.
In a victory for the U.S. entertainment and professional sports establishment,
District Judge Donald Ziegler said iCraveTV.com posed harm to U.S. copyright holders
because the Web site
(http://www.icravetv.com) had no permission to use the material and its security
system had failed to screen out American viewers.
``The public interest was heavily in favor of the plaintiffs,'' Ziegler said in
siding with 10 Hollywood studios, four U.S. TV networks and two American professional
sports leagues who all sued
iCraveTV.com last month alleging Internet piracy.
The David-and-Goliath case, which legal experts view as a potential landmark for the
future of U.S. intellectual property rights on the Internet, has been watched closely
by Internet, advertising and
marketing executives.
``Today's ruling is another significant legal milestone in our battle to stop
cyber-theft wherever it occurs,'' Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture
Association of America, said in a statement.
iCraveTV.com, which bills itself as the world's first 24-hour-a-day free Internet TV
``companion,'' had been picking up broadcasts of popular shows such as ``Frasier'' and
``Ally McBeal'' from 17 stations
in New York and Ontario and reoffering them in a digital video stream on the Internet
with paid advertising.
The Web site ceased operations Jan. 28 after Ziegler imposed a restraining order that
expired on Tuesday. The injunction will remain until a trial can be held to determine
if iCraveTV.com violated U.S.
copyright law. Plaintiffs are seeking damages of $150,000 for each program aired.
But the judge held out the possibility that he could modify the injunction to allow
operations to resume in 90 days if Web site operators present new security measures
effective enough to restrict site access
to a non-U.S. audience.
In the meantime, both sides have begun talks aimed at settling the case out of court.
Plaintiffs, who are also suing iCraveTV.com in Canada, say iCraveTV.com and its
Toronto-based parent TVRadioNow Corp. can be sued in a U.S. court because its
principals are American citizens and it
maintains ad operations in the United States.
On Tuesday, plaintiffs' attorneys were visibly angered by a USAToday interview with
iCraveTV.com chief William Craig, a former Fox TV executive from Pittsburgh, who told
the newspaper that the
actions of his adversaries showed their insecurity.
``We do not trust him and we do not want to give him any wiggle room,'' lead
plaintiff attorney Greg Jordan told the court. ``This Web site was designed to reach
U.S. viewers.''
Tuesday's injunction sought only to prevent the Canadian Web site from transmitting
programs into the United States. But lawyers said TVRadioNow Corp. will keep the site
shut to all users until new
security measures can be presented in May.
``We have endeavored to use the best technology,'' said Ian Mccallum, TVRadioNow vice
president for corporate sales and development. ``When we fix this it'll meet industry
standards.'' He said an
enhanced system could be ready in three weeks.
Plaintiffs include News Corp.'s (NCP.AX) Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Walt
Disney Co.'s (NYSE:DIS - news) Disney Enterprises Inc., Sony Corp. (6758.T) units
Columbia TriStar Television Inc.
and Columbia Pictures Television Inc., Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Inc. (NYSE:MGM - news) and
its Orion Pictures Corp., Paramount Pictures Corp., a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA -
news), Universal
City Studios Inc., a unit of Seagram Co. (Toronto:VO.TO - news) and Time Warner
Entertainment Co. L.P. (Warner Bros.) (NYSE:TWX - news).
TV networks suing were Disney's ABC, CBS Broadcasting Inc. (NYSE:CBS - news) AND News
Corp.'s Fox Broadcasting Co.
