Lawsuit Against iCraveTV Turns 'Nasty'
William Craig, the beleaguered 49-year-old president of Toronto-based iCraveTV, whose company faces a lawsuit by a group of heavyweight US and Canadian entertainment and sports programmers, said he has been thrown a "knuckleball" by the litigants, who reportedly have unearthed an outstanding divorce warrant against him.
A report in today's Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper said that Craig will appear in a Pittsburgh court, where the suit has been lodged, next Friday, but may risk arrest on the unanswered warrant.
According to the paper, court documents have been filed by 10 US networks this week alleging that iCraveTV is illegally offering free online downloads of major TV programming. The bench warrant means that Craig, if he returns to Pittsburgh where he lived for several years, must either pay $1 million or face arrest.
The warrant relates to a property award in a divorce case, Pennsylvania authorities reportedly said.
Craig accused the entertainment industry of throwing a "knuckleball" by dragging his divorce into the public, the report said, adding that Craig asserted he and his wife have an agreement-in-principle and the warrant will soon be withdrawn. The paper quoting him as saying, "This is turning into nasty stuff."
The case is being heard in Pittsburgh because, although because although based in Toronto, iCraveTV is registered in Pennsylvania.
The broadcasters, which include Time Warner Entertainment Co., the National Football League, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Disney Enterprises and the National Basketball Association, claim iCraveTV rebroadcasts TV signals onto the Web without prior consent.
They are seeking an injunction to shut the site down and, damages in the millions of dollars, the report said.
Canadian broadcasters and producers are also planning legal action against the site, which was launched last November and allows surfers to access 17 TV channels. US and Canadian broadcasters and producers allege that the site violates trademark and copyright laws.
The Globe & Mail reported that until October 1997, Craig was vice president and general manager of Fox Sports Network Pittsburgh, leaving that post to become director of development for the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team.
Fox alleged that he used confidential information to help create a separate Sports Network and that he and former Penguins owner Roger Marino sought telecast rights for themselves, the newspaper said.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .