New Line sues Koch over Compass documentary

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/30/2007

NOV. 30 | New Line Cinema is crying foul over Koch Entertainment documentary DVD Beyond the Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman, alleging that the title infringes upon the copyright of its upcoming Dec. 7 theatrical The Golden Compass.

In a suit filed on Nov. 15 in U.S. District Court in New York, New Line describes the documentary as being misleadingly marketed to resemble its theatrical Golden Compass, based on the Philip Pullman book series, to which New Line holds the exclusive film rights.

New Line is seeking in excess of $10 million in damages from Koch and other associated defendants, “based upon copyright infringement, unfair competition and false advertising … so as to unlawfully capitalize on the goodwill relating to the soon-to-be-released major motion picture,” according to the lawsuit.

New Line is heavily invested in Golden Compass, with A-list stars Nicole Kidman and Dakota Fanning and a $180 million price tag. The studio envisions Golden Compass as a follow-up franchise to its successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, also based on popular novels. Pullman’s books, encompassing the trilogy The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, have sold 14 million copies worldwide.

There are obvious differences between the two properties. New Line’s Golden Compass is based on the fictional Pullman story line, and Koch’s Beyond the Golden Compass is a biography of Pullman, featuring interviews with him and historians, according to various product reviews.

But New Line seems more concerned about Koch’s business practices concerning the documentary, than its actual subject matter.

The cover art for Koch’s Beyond the Golden Compass, which streeted on Nov. 20, is deceptively designed to match the brand look New Line created for its theatrical, the suit argues. For example, New Line objects to Koch’s use of a polar bear beneath the documentary’s title logo, “which, in conspicuous imitation of the logo for the plaintiff’s film, is also recognizable for a stylized ‘m’ in the word ‘Compass.’

New Line also is accusing Koch of wrongly suggesting the documentary is officially related to the theatrical with such advertising wording as “Major Motion Picture Tie-in.”

It’s unclear if New Line will be successful in the suit. The studio declined comment. Koch was not commenting at deadline.

Plenty of DVD releases have been engineered to look like copy-cats of theatricals, and in most cases, studios haven’t reacted litigiously. Victory Multimedia is distributing Band of Pirates: Buccaneer Island on Dec. 11, one week after Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment streets its latest Pirates of the Caribbean DVD on Dec. 4. The Band of Pirates cover art features an actor who looks curiously similar to Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow character.

Allumination Filmworks advertised its Plan Bee DVD to retailers with the wording “timed for release of Seinfeld’s Bee Movie from DreamWorks Animation.’ Plan Bee features a bee in the same 3D animation style as Seinfeld’s film.