Amazon is the target of a lawsuit in New York, alleging that the company has distributed copyrighted videos without licenses.
Ralf Hartmann, former CEO of CP Medien, filed the complaint against Amazon, according to a report from Law Street. A CP Medien subsidiary, Capella Films, sold rights to several films to Hartmann, including Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Drop Dead Gorgeous, After the Rain, The Last Tattoo, Music from Another Room, and Pete’s Meteor. As of 2008, Hartmann controls copyrights and exclusive distribution rights to the list of films.
Hartmann alleges that Amazon, through its streaming platform Amazon Prime Video, made the titles available without having rights to them. In his complaint, he says Amazon “without obtaining either license or authorization from RH, made the Motion Pictures Commander Hamilton and After the Rain available for digital distribution either via streaming on demand, and/or for rent or sale on its Prime Video service in the United States.”
The films were reportedly made available on the platform in July 2017 and were distributed through 2018. Hartmann says that each time one of the titles was streamed, it was another violation of the Copyright Act.
According to Law Street, “The plaintiff has sought a declaratory judgment of infringement against Amazon; an award for damages and treble damages, including compensatory damages, full restitution, profit disgorgement, actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages; an award for costs and fees; pre- and post-judgment interest; and other relief as determined by the court.”
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