LOS ANGELES — A New Zealand film company is suing retail store owners, alleging copyright infringement and unfair competition.
South Seas Pictures Ltd. filed a complaint Feb. 2 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Ken’s Island Food, El Rubios Jr. Market, Kumar's Island Market et. al., alleging they distributed an intellectual property without authority from the owner.
According to the complaint, South Seas Pictures, which specializes in films of the Samoan culture, suffered damages from the unlawful conduct of the defendants in the marketing and selling of unauthorized counterfeit copies of its protected work titled "Matai The Chief: Part 6" for sale in their retail stores, without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants deprived South Seas Pictures of an opportunity to expand sales, and deliberately and willfully copied and exploited the plaintiff's protected work.
South Seas Pictures seeks trial by jury, statutory damages of $150,000 from each defendant, court costs and disbursement, attorney fees and investigative expenses, and all other relief the court deems just and proper. They are represented by attorney Joshua H. Eichenstein of Adli Law Group PC in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 18-cv-887