WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 20, 2000 - Taking legal action to stop the theft and unauthorized performances of U.S. copyrighted films and television programs, 10 motion picture and 3 broadcasting companies today filed a complaint against iCraveTV and individuals and companies behind the Internet operation, including William R. Craig, William R. Craig Consulting, George Simons and TVRadio Now Corp.

In announcing the legal action, Jack Valenti, president and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, issued the following statement:

"This is a clear and damaging case of theft by iCraveTV that threatens the intellectual property, investments and achievements of the U.S. television and motion picture industry. This kind of cyberspace stealing must be stopped, wherever it occurs, because it violates the principles of U.S. copyright law. Copyrighted programs and films don't fall from the skies; they evolve from creative artists, supported by considerable financial investments."

The complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania charges that the defendants, which operate an Internet Web site, are responsible for "one of the largest and most brazen thefts of intellectual property ever committed in the United States."

iCraveTV is charged with seizing copyrighted television programs and motion pictures and performing them via the Internet without authorization. The complaint charges the defendants with copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition and other torts.

The plaintiffs filing the complaint are the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; Columbia TriStar Television, Inc.; Columbia Pictures Television Inc.; Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Orion Pictures Corp.; Paramount Pictures Corp.; Universal City Studios, Inc.; Time Warner Entertainment Co. L.P. (Warner Bros.); ABC Inc.; CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Fox Broadcasting Co.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to enjoin iCraveTV, the defendants and others from infringing on the plaintiffs' exclusive rights in the United States under the Copyright Act. Such an injunction would include, but not be limited to, barring the "streaming" of plaintiffs' copyrighted programming via the iCraveTV site or any other Internet site or any online facility of any kind.

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