The Directors Guild of America says companies that edit movies and then rent or sell them for profit are violating federal law and should be stopped.
The guild Friday responded to a lawsuit filed last month by Clean Flicks, a video firm that edits movies for content and rents them to customers.
The DGA called the editing of movies by Clean Flicks "wrong, plain and simple," and asks the court to allow the DGA to expand its counterclaims against Clean Flicks to about a dozen other companies that also edit movies.
"It is wrong to cut scenes from a film — just as it is to rip pages from a book — simply because we don't like the way something was portrayed or said, then resell it with the original title and creator's name still on it," said DGA President Martha Coolidge in a statement on the guild's Web site. "It is unethical, it is shameful, and the DGA will aggressively pursue these claims."
Clean Flicks of Colorado, a licensee of Clean Flicks in Utah, filed a lawsuit last month asking a judge to determine if cutting out rough language and objectionable scenes from movies is a violation of copyright laws. The suit was filed after the company learned the directors guild planned to seek an injunction against the company, preventing further editing.
In its motion filed Friday, the guild asks the U.S. District Court in Denver to allow the guild to intervene in the practice as well as bring in motion picture studios to the fight.
The directors named as defendants in the Clean Flicks lawsuit, which include Robert Redford, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, will be defended by the DGA, the guild states in its motion.
The DGA argues editing and renting movies is a violation of federal law prohibiting false advertising, trademark infringement and unfair competition. The DGA asks the court to grant a permanent injunction to stop the video companies from distributing the edited versions.
Clean Flicks representatives in Utah and Colorado could not be reached Friday. Last month, a spokesman for the Colorado Clean Flicks told the Deseret News because there is such a large market for edited movies, he was surprised Hollywood hasn't yet filled the need.
"We just don't think that families should have to see movies with the 'F' word," spokesman Pete Webb said last month.
E-mail: Ehayes@desnews.com