Disney, Fox Win Bid to Shut Sanitized Streaming Service
Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Time Warner Inc. units won a court order shutting down a Utah-based video-streaming business that lets subscribers pay $1 to watch Hollywood movies stripped of nudity, violence and profanity.
A federal judge on Monday granted the movie studios’ request to halt VidAngel Inc.’s services while a lawsuit continues over whether the company’s business model is, as the studios alleges, an “end run” around copyright protections.
U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. in Los Angeles said in his order granting a preliminary injunction that the studios, which also include Disney’s Lucasfilm unit, have shown they’re likely to win on the merits of their claims and that they will be irreparably harmed if VidAngel is allowed to continue infringing their rights while the lawsuit is being decided....