First Page
291
Abstract
This Note explores the copyright issues presented by the litigation between companies that sanitize movies for viewing by the general public and the studios and directors involved in the creation of the edited movies. Collectively, these companies comprise what is generally referred to as the e-rated industry.' Certain companies within the e-rated industry use digital editing software to edit profanity, sex and violence from popular movies, while other companies provide software allowing viewers to edit their own DVDs. In all cases, this editing is done without the consent of the moviemakers. CleanFilms, which rents out e-rated movies, defines e-rated movies as edited to remove nudity and sexual situations, offensive language, and graphic violence, effectively reducing the movies to a PG rating.' The implications of such movie editing extend beyond the movie industry because private consumers also have access to the digital editing software the e-rated industry uses. If the e-rated industry is engaged in illegal activity, then private consumers who use the same software to edit their own movies may also be in trouble.
Recommended Citation
Christina Mitakis,
The E-Rated Industry: Fair Use Sheep or Infringing Goat?,
6 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law
291
(2020)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol6/iss1/13