Nu Metro wins copyright case

In late September 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Nu Metro Filmed Entertainment and a number of international film studios, dismissing an appeal brought by Mr Video and certain of its franchisees, in a landmark ruling on the rights of copyright holders in South Africa in DVD films.

Interdict proceedings

The Supreme Court of Appeal's ruling was the outcome of interdict proceedings brought by Nu Metro and the various Hollywood studios against Mr Video, which commenced in May 2008. Nu Metro had discovered that certain of the Mr Video franchisees were renting out Zone 1 DVDs of films in which Nu Metro is the exclusive licensee in South Africa, without Nu Metro's, or the relevant studio's, consent.

Disclaimer

Zone 1 DVDs are distributed in the USA and Canada and were being sourced by various Mr Video outlets from retailers in these territories. The disclaimer on these DVDs clearly states that the purchaser of these DVDs was not entitled to rent and/or distribute these DVDs outside of the territory. Accordingly, the Zone 1 titles being made available by Mr Video outlets were not authorised for renting out to the public in South Africa.

In June 2008, the Cape High Court granted interdicts in favour of Universal Studios and Nu Metro and various studios in which Mr Video was restrained from hiring or renting, directly or indirectly, copies (other than legitimate Zone 2 copies obtained through authorised distributors) of films in which Nu Metro or any of the studios are the copyright or the exclusive licensee of the copyright in South Africa.

Appeal dismissed

The Mr Video group appealed certain aspects of the Cape High Court order to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The appeal was dismissed in its entirety.

“Nu Metro is satisfied with the outcome and the absolute validation of Nu Metro as the exclusive licensee for the represented rights in SA,” said Fay Amaral, MD of Nu Metro.

The Supreme Court of Appeal's ruling signifies a major victory for Nu Metro and the Hollywood studios, in terms of which Nu Metro's rights as copyright holder have been confirmed by South Africa's highest court.

Importantly, the judgement sends a strong message to other DVD rental outlets that contraventions of the copyright legislation will not be tolerated and the distributors' rights will be enforced.