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COURT DENIES HALT ON THE SALE OF LA DOLCE VITA
By: William Lopez, Staff Writer
Michael Lucas has won a major victory in the first stage of a lawsuit brought against Michael Lucas Productions and Lucas Entertainment's' La Dolce Vita Part 1 and 2 [2007], a gay XXX movie, by International Media Films, which claims copyright ownership of the 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita.
The lawsuit, claims trademark infringement, tarnishment, and copyright infringement It was originally filed in February of 2007, only weeks before Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita swept the GAYVN Awards winning 14 trophies and which is also held the No.1 spot in America on the JRL Weekly Top 50 for a total of 5 Weeks.
A motion filed by IMF for a preliminary injunction halting sales and distribution of Michael Lucas' La Dolce Vita was filed on March 15, 2007 and IMF claimed that Lucas Entertainment's movie caused irreparable harm to its product.
In a hearing on Friday, April 27, 2007, Judge John G. Koeltl denied IMF's request, citing the five month lag time between IMF's learning about the Lucas Entertainment movie which was produced in October 2006. In IMF's request, they requested a preliminary injunction. Judge Koeltl said,"The Court concludes that the plaintiff's delay seeking preliminary injunctive relief rebuts any presumption of irreparable harm to which the plaintiff is otherwise entitled."
Judge Koeltl's decision does not end the original lawsuit filed by IMF, which is now scheduled for the fall. But in an email sent out on Friday, May 4, 2007, Michael Lucas announced Lucas Entertainment's first victory in this case and said, "What many failed to recognize was that this was nothing more than a homophobic, porn-hating move from the plaintiff. How could anyone possibly confuse the two films with each other? And how could my movie tarnish the reputation of an old, black-and-white movie from the '60s that has a name most Americans can't even pronounce correctly?
"The judge denied the injunction, so, yes, we will continue distributing, selling, and promoting the film." Now retailers can feel at ease knowing that they can continue to sell the largest film of 2007. Contact Lucas Entertainment at www.lucasentertainment.com for reordering information or let your distributor know that you need to restock on the No. 1 hit of 2007, La Dolce Vita Part 1 and 2 [2007].
