Trial Alert! Paramount's Hold on 'La Dolce Vita' to Be Challenged

Who owns the rights to exploit Federico Fellini's classic film? An Italian cinema mystery may be solved soon.

On Feb. 12, Paramount Pictures and International Media Films will square off in a New York courtroom in a fight over who holds copyright on Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The trial will test both company's competing chains of title and examine dealmaking during the golden age of Italian cinema.

In preparation for the fight, both sides are giving their version of the facts.

According to IMF, Paramount only thinks it holds proper title to one of the film world's true classics. In papers filed in court on Tuesday, the company gives several reasons to support the contention that an agreement that Paramount is relying upon isn't authentic.

Paramount brought the lawsuit in November 2011, shortly after the film celebrated its 50th anniversary and both companies licensed theatrical re-releases and special edition DVDs and Blu-Rays. IMF is charged with infringing on Paramount's copyright.

At the time of the lawsuit, IMF was coming off a court loss. IMF had itself tried to assert copyright infringement against another company that had made a porn version of the Fellini film that popularized the orgy. IMF failed to win its lawsuit because the judge ruled it hadn't established its rights.

Thereafter, in the subsequent Paramount-IMF litigation, the new judge was told that IMF had already been deemed a loser. But the judge accepted IMF's position that its burden as a plaintiff to prove rights was different than its burden now. The judge ruled, "The Court finds that it would not serve the interests of equity and fairness to preclude IMF from raising the defense that it owns the Copyright."

Both companies have theories on why they hold proper title. Each presents a complicated chain of custody. Both agree that producer Riana Film S.P.A. originally held title. Both agree that rights were then transferred to Cinemat S.A.

That agreement is said to be dated on Jan. 9, 1962, but IMF points out that at the time, Cinemat hadn't acquired rights on La Dolce Vita until two months later. IMF says the fact that a company would sell rights to a film it didn't yet own is "manifestly questionable." The purchaser in this agreement is said to have committed to $1.5 million for rights it didn't yet own and that the parties didn't spell out in contract what would happen if Cinemat wasn't successful in gaining rights from the producer. Further, IMF says the agreement wasn't notarized, has elements that are allegedly "superimposed," has elements that aren't legible, and allegedly involved a European banker who was involved in the Hor transaction.

 Here's IMF's full contentions of fact and law:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/120714369/IMF

Here's Paramount's full contention of facts and law: http://www.scribd.com/doc/120714515/Paramount

Read More: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/trial-alert-paramounts-hold-la-413052