PHILIP PULLMAN - NEW LINE CINEMA SUES VIDEO COMPANY OVER THE GOLDEN COMPASS

NEW LINE CINEMA SUES VIDEO COMPANY OVER THE GOLDEN COMPASS

Film studio New Line Cinema has filed a multi-million dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against a video company over a documentary about THE GOLDEN COMPASS author PHILIP PULLMAN. The moviehouse claims the 70-minute DVD film, Beyond the Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman, is an attempt by company Koch Entertainment to cash in on the publicity surrounding the new $180 million (GBP90 million) big-screen adaptation of the writer's fantasy novel, which stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The movie is due to hit cinemas in December (07) - while the DVD was released on 19 November (07), and by Koch's own admission, is to "coincide with the big-budget film adaptation." And New Line Cinema has also called into question the similarity of the DVD's cover sleeve to the film's publicity posters - the documentary cover features an unarmored polar bear and a compass-like device; the same as the movie's promotional material, which also depicts Kidman and Craig. But Koch Entertainment has denied the copyright claim. The two parties met for a hearing in a New York court on Monday (19Nov07), but a ruling has yet to be made.