USTA Sues Venus And Serena Movie Makers

Written by: on 18th June 2013
Tennis Australian Open 2013
USTA Sues Venus And Serena Movie Makers

epa03540305 Serena (R) and sister Venus Williams during their 1st round women's double match against Camilia Giorgi of Italy and Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 17 January 2013. EPA/Dennis Sabangan  |

The USTA has sued the makers of a documentary about Venus and Serena Williams of copyright infringement. The New York Times reported that the USTA is accusing Maiken Baird and Michelle Major, the makers of “Venus and Serena,” of using more than 20 minutes of video from the 2011 United States Open without signing an agreement.

The USTA added that the film makers used four times more video than would have been permitted in an agreement.

According to the lawsuit, in 2011, Baird and Major first asked the USTA about obtaining permission to use video of the Williams sisters from previous US Opens and to shoot video at the 2011 event. They obtained access to the 2011 tournament, but according to the USTA the filmmakers never signed an agreement and consequently the organization believed that the documentary had been abandoned.

The USTA said that having failed to reach an agreement or pay for the footage, Baird and Major misappropriated the footage for their commercial advantage without regard to the USTA rights.

The USTA is also said to be upset that the documentary contains footage from Serena’s infamous meltdown against a lineswoman in her 2009 semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters that the USTA said was “not in the best interest of the sport.”

Baird and Major accused the USTA of censorship and said that an agreement never existed and that they shot footage of the tournament with permission.








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.