USTA Sues Venus And Serena Movie Makers

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 18th June 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.

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FAILLEB says:

June 18, 2013 at 2:11 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: USTA Sues Venus And Serena Movie Makers: The USTA has sued the makers of a documentary about Venus and … http://t.co/11…