Starz Files Suit Against Disney Over iTunes Movies

03.23.07 - 02:15pm

As digital media takes over, old long standing contracts that have been around for years are getting blighted. Starz and Disney have had one of these contracts signed first in 1993 and again in 1999. The contract gives Starz an 18-month exclusive window to sell Disney’s DVDs or films and to offer them online for one-time use or for short periods. Starz says that Disney’s selling of the videos in digital downloadable format through iTunes and Walmart violates that right and has now filed a lawsuit against their partner.

“I applaud them for being aggressive in new technology, but not when it violates our contract,” Starz Chief Executive Robert Clasen said.

Starz has cited 50 movies in which they claim exclusive rights paid for with over 1 billion dollars have been violated, among them National Treasure, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Shop Girl and the English Patient.

Disney said that the Starz agreement has not been violated and that Starz has simply misread the agreement. They say they are allowed to sell their movies “in a wide range of mediums.”

The teams have tried to settle the grievances out of court but could come to no conclusion and Starz says they have been brusquely brushed aside. ”We’ve had conversations with them. We met with them last week. They just refuse to discuss it,” said Robert B. Clasen, Starz entertainment chairman and chief executive. ”We believe we need to protect the copyright license we paid them for.”

The agreement Disney signed in 1999 is up for renegotiation in 2008.

Category: itunes | Tags: itunes, lawsuit, starz_entertainment, walmart