Elvis Presley Enterprises Sues NBC Over Film Clips

Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. is suing the National Broadcasting Co., claiming the nation’s third-largest network illegally broadcast copyright-protected film clips of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll without permission.

The suit filed last week in federal court in Los Angeles claims the General Electric Co. unit infringed its copyrights by airing scenes from Presley’s 1973 “Aloha From Hawaii” and “The ’68 Comeback Special” on the MSNBC programs “Time and Again” and “Headliners and Legends with Matt Lauer.”

Memphis, Tenn.-based Elvis Presley Enterprises says it has been selective in licensing copyrighted materials featuring the late singer and repeatedly has asked NBC to stop infringing on Presley’s works.

“Contrary to their standard practices, defendants never sought nor obtained permission to copy, broadcast and create new derivative works,” the suit claims.

Elvis Presley Enterprises said it plans to produce a definitive video history of Elvis that will include some of his best-known performances. The clips NBC used will add value to the video, the suit says.

The “Time and Again” show about Presley originally aired in August 1999 and the “Headliners and Legends with Matt Lauer” program began airing in November 1999, the suit says.

NBC also violated the copyright by showing clips from home movies and from “The ’77 Special,” the suit says. The suit asks a judge to bar the television network from airing any of the programs featuring Presley’s protected works and order the broadcaster to pay unspecified damages.

All the works are either owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises or by the Promenade Trust, a trust for the singer’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley, the suit says. Lisa Marie Presley is owner and chairwoman of closely held Elvis Presley Enterprises.

A spokesman for MSNBC said the company’s policy is to decline comment on pending litigation.

The “Time and Again” program, featuring Jane Pauley, is no longer produced, though the company airs reruns. “Headliners and Legends with Matt Lauer” is still in production, the company said.

For the television-viewing season that began Oct. 1, NBC ranks third in Nielsen Media Research Inc.’s prime-time ratings, trailing Viacom Inc.’s CBS and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC. The MSNBC cable channel is a joint venture of NBC and Microsoft Corp.