"Scary" Copyright Lawsuit filed against Amazon, Google and Microsoft in NY Fed. Court
Filmmaker's Movie has Zero Value after Studio Gunpowder and Sky's Unauthorized Release
NEW YORK -- The word "Agoraphobia" is defined by Merriam-Webster as an, "abnormal fear of being helpless in a situation from which escape may be difficult or embarrassing…" The developing story of Phobia Entertainment's horror movie release titled by the same name captures the essence of company owner Lou Simon's circumstances.
Simon was living the American dream as a Cuban immigrant with a career as an accomplished writer/producer/director within the horror film genre that had been on an upward trajectory, receiving critical acclaim and multiple awards on the film festival circuit for her projects. Her rising success solidified her reputation of bankability within the private film investor community and she was repeatedly able to raise the production budgets for her company's films.
Her 2015 film "Agoraphobia" was taking her to a new level with a fully-funded budget and the ability to cast well-known talent including horror movie legend Tony Todd, known for "Candyman" and "Night Of The Living Dead" and Cassandra Serbo, from "Sharknado" and the hit ABC Family drama series, "Make It or Break It". Once the project was completed, she contracted with Toronto-based distributor 108 Media who had a partnership with New York-based global studio Gunpowder and Sky for film distribution. That's when things started to go wrong.
As part of the distribution agreement, 108 Media was supposed to market and promote the film prior to its initial release. Industry experts know that this is the most critical effort for any film release to be successful. After months of non-action and a breach of the distribution agreement, Simon cancelled the contract with 108 Media and was given back all of the rights to the film.
Nevertheless, weeks later, and without authorization, Gunpowder and Sky, through its partnership with 108 Media, illegally released "Agoraphobia" for sale through all of its distribution partners including Amazon.com, Google Play Store and the Microsoft Store.
Upon discovery of the unauthorized release, Simon immediately notified 108 Media and Gunpowder and Sky. Although initially removed from all of the services, Gunpowder & Sky released the film again for sale not once, but twice to its distributors over the next several months.
In the time it was illegally available for sale, the film was purchased, pirated and made available on multiple illegal bit torrent services as well as multiple pirated film apps on the infamous Kodi video streaming software. Now Simon cannot find a new distributor to release the film and her once bankable reputation as an acclaimed filmmaker has been irreparably harmed.
Simon's company Phobia Entertainment, LLC filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York late last week against Gunpowder & Sky and 108 Media Corp and its owner Abhi Rastogi, as well as Amazon Digital Services, LLC, Google, Inc., Microsoft Corporation and others for copyright infringement and breach of contract.
