Streaming giant Netflix is facing a lawsuit seeking about RM428 million (US$105 million) after it was accused of negligence that allegedly led to the theft of a digital copy of an unreleased film, Fortitude, from its office in Los Angeles, United States.
The lawsuit was filed last week at the California Federal Court by writer and producer Simon Afram and his company, Op-Fortitude, claiming the incident had affected the commercial value of the film.
Fortitude, a World War Two thriller starring Nicolas Cage and Ben Kingsley, was sent to Netflix’s office on June 15 for evaluation of its distribution rights.
According to the lawsuit, Netflix failed to return the Digital Cinema Package (DCP) storage device containing the film, before a company executive later informed Afram through email that the digital drive had been stolen along with several other drives.
Afram claimed he invested more than RM183 million (US$45 million) over seven years in producing the film, and argued that the loss of the copy had made it difficult to secure distribution deals while raising concerns that the movie could be leaked on piracy websites.
The lawsuit stated that the film’s commercial value relied heavily on maintaining exclusivity before its official release, and the alleged loss of control over the content had severely affected its market potential.
However, Netflix has denied responsibility for the incident, claiming the film was delivered without security protection that met industry standards.
The company said it had conducted a thorough investigation and continued monitoring piracy platforms to detect any illegal distribution of the film.
A Netflix spokesperson, speaking to CBS News, rejected the claims made in the lawsuit and said the company should not be held liable for the loss of a film that was provided without standard industry security measures.
So far, there is no evidence indicating that Fortitude has been leaked or distributed online.
