Seven Arts Pictures PLC v. Fireworks Entertainment, Inc.

MEMORANDUM **

Seven Arts and Fireworks dispute the copyright and distribution rights of a number of films, transferred between the two companies during a failed joint venture. They have pursued this dispute across a series of fora and in several related lawsuits.

The first of these suits, concerning whether the venture’s Master Structure Agreement (“MSA”) had been breached, was dismissed by the Central District of California based on a forum selection clause in the MSA that specified that all disputes relating to the agreement were to be heard in Ontario, Canada. Seven Arts’ predecessor, Cinevisions, did file a breach of contract action in Ontario, but that case has not moved forward because Cinevisions has not obeyed an Ontario court order requiring it to post security for costs.

Instead, Seven Arts filed this copyright infringement action in the Central District of California. Seven Arts acknowledges that it possesses the copyrights in question only if both the MSA and separate transfer agreements for each film, which would otherwise give ownership to Fireworks, are unenforceable. Judge Collins held the copyright action before us today inextricably related to the Canadian…