$62 Million Copyright Infringement Ruling for VidAngel

VidAngel, a service that allows users to filter out coarse language, nudity, violence and other content from movies and TV series, has been ordered to pay $62 million in damages after being sued by several Hollywood studios.

The platform allows users to filter content via their Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO on Amazon Prime accounts. Several Hollywood studios, led by Disney, sued the platform for copyright infringement, and earlier this year, a U.S. District Court agreed. Yesterday, the court ordered VidAngel to pay damages of $75,000 per work for copyright infringement, covering 819 titles, for a total of $61.4 million, and a further $1,250 per work for violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for a total of $1 million.

“We disagree with today’s ruling and have not lessened our resolve to save filtering for families one iota,” VidAngel CEO Neal Harmon said in a statement. “VidAngel plans to appeal the District Court ruling and explore options in the bankruptcy court. Our court system has checks and balances, and we are pursuing options on that front as well.”