Starz Sues Disney TV Arm Over iTunes Deal

March 23, 2007

Starz Entertainment has sued Buena Vista Television, the licensing arm of Disney, in a breach of contract suit that involves Apple's iTunes.

Starz Entertainment has sued Buena Vista Television, the licensing arm of Disney, in a breach of contract suit that involves Apple's iTunes.

Specifically, the suit charges that Disney began selling content through iTunes that it had previously promised to Starz, through an exclusive license window of time.

"The film studios have been very aggressive, and quite rightly so, in protecting their copyrights, particularly with regard to the Internet," said Robert B. Clasen, chief executive Officer and chairman of Starz, in a statement. "Starz must be equally aggressive in protecting the value of the deal it made. It is especially disappointing to see one of the largest studios ignore so blatantly its own contractual obligations to protect the copyrights it has licensed to Starz."

The suit notes that the licensing agreements do allow Disney to distribute its films on a pay-per-view or on-demand basis, as well as home video distribution, but prevents them from licensing its films "for exhibition in any form of television or electronic delivery."

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International