A Chinese online movie firm has sued five Hollywood studios and the Motion
Picture Association of America, alleging that false accusations of piracy have
harmed its reputation.
The MPAA and studios including Disney, Universal and Columbia filed suit
against Jeboo.com in China late last year, accusing the company of distributing
their movies illegally. The MPAA announced an out-of-court settlement of the
case on 6 March.
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"Services like Jeboo have profited from copyright infringement and undermined
the development of legitimate online services," said Frank Rittman, an MPAA vice
president and the organisation's Asia-Pacific regional counsel.
However, Jeboo yesterday announced to local media that it plans to sue the
MPAA and the studios, claiming that statements like these are untrue and have
damaged its reputation.
In the original case, Jeboo was accused of pirating Pirates of the
Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest, as well as 20 other popular films.
Users of two internet cafes in Shanghai were observed downloading or watching
the movies, according to the MPAA.
Services like Jeboo have profited from copyright infringement
Frank Rittman Asia-Pacific regional counsel, MPAA
Jeboo claims that it never accepted liability in the case, and that it
settled in order to get it over with as quickly as possible.
The pirated movies in question did not in fact originate with Jeboo, the
company claims.
Internet cafes pay Jeboo a monthly fee for the installation of a Lan-based
film distribution system. Jeboo updates the content every day and provides
customer service support.
Visitors to the cafe can either watch or download the movies. According to
the MPAA, users generally cannot access the Jeboo Bar from their own computers.
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