Studios Ask Court to Block Film Sanitizers

Eight major studios filed copyright and trademark infringement claims against CleanFlicks and other companies that edit Hollywood films for content they deem offensive.

The Hollywood companies asked a federal court in Denver to block the film sanitizers from continuing their activities and to pay for studio legal costs. The studios didn’t ask for monetary damages, however.

The action bolsters the Directors Guild of America, which has been seeking studio backing in an ongoing legal fight with those who clean up movies by altering or masking their content.

The film sanitizers contend that they don’t violate copyright laws because some buy a new copy of a film when they alter a DVD or tape and others only provide software that lets viewers change or mask offensive features.

-- Michael Cieply