Starz Sues Disney Over iTunes, Wal-Mart

 
By Sherri March 25, 2007



The folks over at Disney might not be zippedy do dah’ing this week.

Starz Entertainment has slapped a lawsuit against Disney’s Buena Vista Television for its alleged violation of a 2005 licensing agreement that gave Starz the exclusive rights to market big-name Disney movies for download.

Starz is saying Disney’s agreements with iTunes and Wal-Mart for download sales of movies such as “Pirates of the Carbbean: Dead Man’s Chest” violates the deal, which Starz has paid more than $1 billion for.

“Our issue is that the contract has a clear prohibition from them doing this and we gave them notice, had a number of exchanges and had meetings and they denied our request for relief," Starz Entertainment Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Clasen has been quoted as saying. "We are absolutely adamant in protecting our contractual rights and licenses.”

The suit might seek all revenue enjoyed by Disney as a result of any sales via iTunes and Wal-Mart.

The suit in and of itself isn’t what’s interesting here. What is, however, is the fact that download rights are becoming big enough business to warrant territorial battles and lawsuits. Digital viewing has come a long way.

Related:
Starz, Azureus Pair Up
Disney Downloads Top 4 Million On iTunes

Labels: disney, itunes, online movies, online tv, starz, vongo, wal-mart