9th Cir.;
16-56843

The court of appeals affirmed a district court judgment. The court held that the Family Movie Act of 2005 did not exempt from liability for copyright infringement an online streaming service that offered filtered versions of movies and televisions shows.

VidAngel, Inc. operated an online streaming service that removed objectionable content from movies and television shows. VidAngel purchased physical discs of newly released copyrighted movies and television shows, decrypted the discs to “rip” a digital copy to a computer, altered that version in multiple ways to remove various types of objectionable content, and then streamed a version to each of its customers that was customized to that customer's stated preferences. Disney Enterprises, Inc. and others sued VidAngel for violating both the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and sought a preliminary injunction. The district court granted the preliminary injunction, finding the studios were likely to succeed on both their Copyright Act and DMCA claims.