In a complaint filed yesterday, Arrow Productions sued to block the release of The Weinstein Company’s newest film, Lovelace, set to open this Friday. The plaintiff, an adult film company, alleges copyright and trademark infringement as well as trademark dilution. Arrow produced the film Deep Throat in the 1970s, which starred Linda Lovelace, the focus of the upcoming film. Specifically, Arrow claims that The Weinstein Co. copied footage from the original movie and used trademarked terms such as “Linda Lovelace” and “Deep Throat” without permission. Arrow seeks an injunction on the release of the film in addition to money damages of at least $10 million plus any profits and revenues the film generates. It claims:
Rather than negotiating licenses for Deep Throat IP, rather than deferring to Arrow’s vision for the Deep Throat brand, Defendants have simply taken what they wanted and crossed their fingers. Evidently their hope was that by the time Arrow noticed the theft, Lovelace would be a fait accompli.
The Hollywood Reporter’s legal blog provided some background to the suit as well as potential defenses for The Weinstein Co. and its co-defendants. The motion is set to be heard this afternoon before Judge Griesa. UPDATE: As reported by Reuters, Judge Griesa denied Arrow Production’s request for a temporary restraining order on the release of the film. Lovelace opens Friday, as originally planned.