Star Cinema, 4 others told to pay P10M for copying artwork

Thursday, February 9, 2012

BLOCKBUSTER hit “Enteng ng Ina Mo” may not be shown in theatres anew or reproduced in video discs after an artist accused movie producer Star Cinema and four others of ostensibly lifting a costume design without permission.

Not only that, internationally recognized artist Lee Roy New asked the makers of Enteng to pay him P10 million for violating his intellectual property rights after main villain “Satana”, an evil fairy portrayed by actress Bing Loyzaga, wore a pirated costume artwork.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

This costume appeared in the final battle scene of the nearly two-hour movie, as New believed that Satana’s portrayal could have been a dud if not for his artwork, which made it “inseparable from her character as Enteng’s archnemesis.”

“Take away that part of the movie where Satana was shown wearing the copied art muscle costume and the movie’s coherence and integrality are lost. Without the costume copied from our client’s copyrighted art muscle dress sculpture, Satana’s characterization in the movie will be seriously impaired,” New’s counsels Roque & Butuyan Law Offices said in a three-page letter obtained by Sun.Star.

Dated January 18, 2012, the letter was addressed to ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. (Star Cinema), M-Zet Productions, APT Entertainment Inc., TAPE Inc., and OctoArts Films.

The letter, however, was only received by the said movie outfits last February 2 and they were given 10 days from receipt or until February 12 to accede to New’s demands. Otherwise, the law firm said it will file a case against these companies for violating Republic Act 8293, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

While New was acknowledged in the movie’s closing credits as the source of the artwork, his lawyers said their client’s consent was not sought, whether in relation to the reproduction of the design or the use of his name in the flick.

To further strengthen their claim, New’s counsels said they have documented admissions from members of the production team, as well as electronic and promotional materials pointing him as the source of the costume used by Loyzaga in the film.

“Worse, our client’s moral rights were violated when his design was not only used, but also altered and mutilated for use in the movie,” the letter stated.

A Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Philippines (UP), the 25-year-old New made waves in various countries in Asia for his innovative artworks using plastic and industrial-based materials.

In fact, global pop star Lady Gaga even used a variation on his art muscle dress theme in the music video “Marry the Night” and then featured it on the cover art of the album.

Sun.Star has yet to get a reply from Star Cinema and four other companies even as the law firm asked them to see the “way clear through the matter to avoid costly and protracted litigation.”

“To date, we haven’t received a reply from them. Anyway, we gave 10 days,” New’s counsel Romel Bagares said in a text message.

Top-billed by veteran comedians Vic Sotto and Ai Ai delas Alas, the movie is a crossover of popular Christmas flicks “Enteng Kabisote” and “Ang Tanging Ina Mo” that delved on the usual good versus evil plot seen in various fantasy productions.

It became the top grosser among seven entries after raking in P237.88 million, which is nearly twice as much as compared to closest pursuer “Segunda Mano”, co-produced by presidential sister and lead actress Kris Aquino.

New’s case is the second copyright issue that attended the recent 37th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

Last year, the name of director Amable “Tikoy” Aguiluz VI was deleted from the promotional materials and closing credits of period film “Manila Kingpin: The Untold Story of Asiong Salonga” after he secured a three-day temporary restraining order from the Intellectual Property Rights Office (IPO) on December 23.

This developed after Aguiluz complained that the film’s contents had been altered without his knowledge. As a result, the movie could not be attributed to him as he mulled of filing more cases against Asiong’s producers.

Despite the removal of his name, Aguiluz still went on to bag the Best Director plum, which was received by production member Darell dela Cruz last December 28.

The movie is second to the last in the box office receipts after earning only P38.44 million after the two-week showing. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)