Entertainment & Sports
Jun. 10, 2017
VidAngel appeals injunction blocking streaming service
The company argued that its purchase of physical copies of DVDs granted it streaming rights.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Video streaming website VidAngel Inc. argued before a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel Thursday that purchasing a physical copy of a film should effectively allow the purchaser to stream the film at will.
The company rented films with parental control options to consumers for as low as $1 before U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. granted an injunction blocking the service in December. The injunction was requested by Disney Enterprises Inc., who sued along with Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox over claims that VidAngel's service violated the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Birotte found that VidAngel's service violated the act by circumventing infringement protections on DVDs in order to distribute them online, dismissing claims by VidAngel that such circumvention is allowable under the Family Home Movie Act of 2005. Disney Enterprises Inc. v. VidAngel Inc., 16-Cv04109 (C.D. Cal., filed June 9, 2016).
VidAngel's appeal addressed what it saw as an inconsistent application of the Family Home Movie Act, reasoning that it was "the clearest path to a reversal" by the panel.
Circuit Judge Andrew Hurwitz disagreed, writing off the act as a "red herring" that did not apply to the case.
Peter K. Stris, an attorney at Stris & Maher LLP representing VidAngel, focused much of his argument on whether the streaming service was allowable under the digital copyright act, which would make the issue of the Family Home Movie Act irrelevant.
The service, Stris argued, was allowable because VidAngel has a physical copy in its library for each film that it rents out. The company can offer "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to 1,000 customers only if it has 1,000 physical copies on hand, for example. By purchasing the physical copies of the film, Stris argued, VidAngel wasn't violating the copyright act anymore than anyone else who had purchased the film, as even the act of putting a DVD into a DVD player bypasses protections on the disc.
Donald B. Verilli Jr., a partner with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP representing the studios, said the idea that simply purchasing a DVD authorized VidAngel's streaming service "lacks any justification" and "is totally unfair to us and licensed streaming services."
"The District Court put this injunction in place because it saw VidAngel for what it is — an unlicensed, on demand streaming service," Verilli said.
Verilli said the copyright act could not be circumvented in the way proposed by VidAngel unless authorized by the work's lawful owner. The panel — consisting of Hurwitz, Circuit Judge Carlos Bea and District of Hawaii Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi — seemed generally unswayed by VidAngel's interpretation.
steven_crighton@dailyjournal.com
Steven Crighton
steven_crighton@dailyjournal.com
For reprint rights or to order a copy of your photo:
Email
Jeremy_Ellis@dailyjournal.com
for prices.
Direct dial: 213-229-5424
Send a letter to the editor:
Email: letters@dailyjournal.com