Monday, July 10, 2006

Court Rules Against CleanFlicks, Others

A court has ruled against Pleasant Grove, Utah-based CleanFlicks, Utah-based CleanFilms, Arizona-based Family Flix USA, providers of edited DVDs, saying that the firm must immediately cease all production, sale, and rental of the companies videos. All of the companies provide edited versions of popular DVDs, with sex, nudity, violence, and profanity removed. The ruling, made in the U.S. District Court in Colorado, put a major damper on the firm's businesses, which centered around providing family-friendly versions of Hollywood films. The judge ruled that the companies must turn over all existing copies of edited movies to their respective studios for destruction. The companies had faced Hollywood opposition to the editing, which was done without the approval or collaboration of the studios or directors. Salt Lake City, Utah-based ClearPlay, a competitor to CleanFlicks, said that the company was not affected by the ruling, as the firm's technology is protected by the 2005 Family Movie Act, and works as part of a DVD player to filter out scenes.