filmmaker sacha parisot wins injunction against movie...

S - October 4 2007, 12:11 PM

FILMMAKER SACHA PARISOT WINS INJUNCTION AGAINST MOVIE BOOTLEGGERS IN MIAMI

MIAMI, FLORIDA, September 26, 2007 A Federal Court Judge has issued a Temporary Restrainting Order, Order of Seizure and Temporary Injunction against Cinevision Production of Miami, Inc., Carine Delerme, Lionel Productions, Inc., Caminito Fond-Rose (a.k.a Lionel Beeper), Mizik Depot, Bazile Berthole, Wilton Narcisse doing business as Kompa City stopping the illegal sale of bootlegged DVDs

Fort Lauderdale Attorney John F. Bradley of the firm Bradley & Robinson, P.L. has filed suit in Federal Court on behalf of Sacha Parisot seeking damages and injunctive relief and a seizure of the bootlegged DVDs for Copyright Infringement.

The defendants were ordered to deliver all of their illegal copies of DVD to Mr. Parisot's attorney's office by Wednesday September, 26, 2007.

In his suit Sacha Parisot alleges that these companies and individuals have been involved in the reselling, manufacturing, and /or distribution of bootlegged copies of Mr. Parisot's movie "LA REBELLE." These companies and individuals have sold the bootlegged DVDs in their stores and on their web sites, and have shipped thous and s of copies to other Haitian movie DVD resellers in the United States and overseas

This week, Federal District Judge Joan Lenard in Miami has issued an Order to the Defendants Granting a Temporary Restraining Order, injunction and seizure.

Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres also issued an Order to protect the evidence of that infringement from destruction.

Judge Lenard made numerous findings which will govern the case which is now proceeding towards trial.

The following are some highlights of the court orders:

* The court found that the defendants distributed products which infringed on Sacha Parisot's copyright in the film LA REBELLE.

* The court ordered that the defendants are permanently prohibited from infringing, manufacturing, distributing, selling or offering to sell copies of LA REBELLE, or otherwise using it in any way without the consent of Sacha Parisot.

* The defendants were required to deliver to Sacha Parisot's counsel, on or before Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 12:00 noon, all copies made or used in violation of Sacha Parisot's copyright in LA REBELLE.

Defendants were ordered to immediately remove or recall from distributors, and, retailers, any originals, copies, or duplicates of the infringing work and deliver the same to the plaintiff's attorney on or before Friday, September 28, 2007 at 12:00 noon.

* The Court also ordered that the defendants and any persons, who in any way interfere or fail to comply with the execution of this order, or interfere with Sacha Parisot's or his agents' rights to manufacture, distribute and sell the copyrighted work, LA REBELLE, shall be subject to contempt proceedings before this court.

Sacha Parisot is the Producer, Director, and co-writer of the hit Haitian movie LA REBELLE.

He also wrote and directed the movie SKIN DEEP, released in 2004. LA REBELLE spent five months in theaters in Haiti, and is one of the highest grossing movies ever in Haiti.

It was while in theaters in Haiti that an illegal copy was apparently made of the DVD. When playing the bootlegged copy in a DVD player, viewers will see a periodic scroll of the name of the theaters in Haiti where the movie was being shown.

This scroll lets a viewer know immediately that he or she is viewing the bootlegged copy.

This case is the first of its kind in the young Haitian film industry.

However, although the industry is young, bootlegging Haitian movies has been growing steadily over the past few years.

As reported by the Associated Press, Haiti is quickly becoming the biggest movie producer in the Caribbean.

And bootlegging has grown so much that it is now threatening the very existence of this young industry.

Defendant Caminito Fond Rose who uses the alias "Lionel Beeper" has been accused of piracy in the past and a police investigation was initiated.

According to Mr. Parisot, this case is important because it shows Haitian music and movie producers that they have recourses when bootleggers illegally copy and sell their products.

He believes that all producers can and should pursue legal action when they find their products being bootlegged.

The Haitian-American film and music industries are small enough that most of the people involved in distribution are well known.

So if all producers sue those responsible for bootlegging their DVDs or CDs, this will go a long way towards cleaning up this small and growing industry.

Protecting your rights begins with producers first registering the copyright of their CD or DVD with the Library of Congress (at a cost of $45), and then if their product is bootlegged, they will have clear legal recourse

Apparently, many store owners in the Haitian-American communities are of the misconception that there is nothing illegal about selling bootlegged products, as they are not the ones who are doing the bootlegging.

This is false and can lead to store owners finding themselves as defendants in a lawsuit such as this one.

Mr. Bradley is a veteran litigator in the entertainment and intellectual property arena.

He is the immediate past chairman of the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section of the Florida Bar. Mr. Bradley states that it "is up to courageous companies and individuals to stop piracy of all kinds.

Experienced and knowledgeable counsel can obtain victories for their clients like the one we obtained for Mr. Parisot." He looks forward to the trial were he intends to seek substantial monetary and punitive damages against the Defendants.

Related Article:

Haiti Cinema, The Trial Of the Century!

Four Haitian movie producers and distributors will appear before a US Federal judge for Copyright Infringement on Thursday September 19 2007 at 9.00...

REPLY to this message

Return to Message List