New Line Cinema sues video company over "The Golden Compass"

Film studio New Line Cinema has filed a multi-million dollar copyright infringement lawsuit against a video company over a documentary about The Golden Compass author Philip Pullman. The movie studio claims the 70-minute DVD film, Beyond The Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman, is an attempt by company Koch Entertainment to cash in on the publicity surrounding the new $180 million big-screen adaptation of the writer's fantasy novel, which stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The movie is due to hit cinemas in December - while the DVD was released on November 19, and by Koch's own admission, is to "coincide with the big-budget film adaptation." And New Line Cinema has also called into question the similarity of the DVD's cover sleeve to the film's publicity posters - the documentary cover features an unarmored Polar Bear and a compass-like device; the same as the movie's promotional material, which also depicts Kidman and Craig. But Koch Entertainment has denied the copyright claim. The two parties met for a hearing in a New York court on Monday, but a ruling has yet to be made.