Passport International Productions Loses Elvis Copyright Suit

LOS ANGELES, February 16: The U.S. District Court in Los
Angeles has awarded Elvis Presley Enterprises, SOFA Entertainment, and
songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller $2.8 million in damages and attorneys
fees to be paid by Passport International Productions (also known as Passport
Video) and its owner, Dante Pugliese, over a series of DVDs released in 2002.

In 2002, Passport manufactured and sold a set of eight DVDs
entitled 25th Anniversary Elvis: The Definitive Collection August 16,
1977—August 16, 2002 (also known as The
Definitive Elvis.) The 16-hour set included
copyrighted works owned by plaintiffs. The copyrighted materials included
Presley home movies owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises and material from The
Ed Sullivan Show and portions of Ed
Sullivan Rock & Roll Classics—Elvis Presley owned by SOFA Entertainment. The plaintiffs sued
Passport for using the copyrighted material without authorization. Passport,
meanwhile, claimed "fair use," arguing that the set was a documentary
look at the life of Elvis Presley. The court disagreed.

“This is a landmark decision for all of us,” stated Gary
Hovey, the EVP of entertainment/music publishing for Elvis Presley Enterprises.
“We are delighted with the court’s ruling, the damages awarded and the
precedent it sets.”

“It is reassuring to know that the courts have seen fit to
uphold our copyrights thereby putting unscrupulous parties on notice that
historic performances from The Ed Sullivan Show cannot be used by those who prefer to steal rather than to license,”
added Andrew Solt of SOFA Entertainment. “We are very pleased with the court’s
informed decision.”