CleanFlicks Suit Names 16 Directors

Seeking to preempt possible legal action by Hollywood copyright holders, CleanFlicks of Colorado filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking a determination on whether its practice of editing feature film videos for G-rated audiences are protected under federal law.

The suit names as defendants 16 prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh and Michael Mann, and alleges they have announced plans on the Directors Guild of America’s Web site to seek a permanent injunction against CleanFlicks and other similar companies.

CleanFlicks, a Colorado franchise of CleanFlicks of Pleasant Grove, Utah, says it edits out and, in some cases, alters movie content that might be objectionable to some viewers who would otherwise not watch a particular film. In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, the company says an original copy of the movie is always purchased and then edited and sometimes copied.

Joining CleanFlicks as a plaintiff in the suit is Robert Huntsman, who has a pending patent on a technology that would allow consumers to use filters to alter a movie without making copies.

The Directors Guild, which represents more than 12,000 members, said the lawsuit is wholly without merit. “We believe it is the plaintiffs who, through their unauthorized altering of original works, are in violation of the law,” the DGA said in a statement.