THE RJR Communication Group has expressed surprise at an article carried in yesterday's edition of the Observer, which stated that SportsMax would be initiating legal action against the company for alleged infringement of intellectual property rights.

According to the lawyers representing the RJR Group, "As far as the group is aware they have been in, without prejudice, negotiations through their attorneys with attorneys for SportsMax up to Thursday, September 13, 2007".

Attorney's representing Jamaica's largest listed media conglomerate Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon and Company further stated that, "(They) are still awaiting a response to the correspondence directed to SportsMax's attorneys-at-law.
This publication in the face of the current negotiations is definitely a show of bad faith and has destroyed the basis for the continuation of those discussions between the parties".
The RJR Group noted that, "... aspects of the publication are inaccurate and misleading. It is therefore unfortunate that SportsMax has chosen to end good faith discussions in the press and in those circumstances we are ready to defend any suit SportsMax is contemplating".

Meanwhile, contacted for a response to the release of the RJR Group, President and CEO of SportsMax, Oliver McIntosh, told the Observer that the lawsuit should not have come as a surprise, because lawyers representing his company had written the RJR Group on September 12, indicating that they would be taking the matter to court.

"This should not have come as a surprise to either Television Jamaica or the attorneys for Television Jamaica," McIntosh said. "This is not the preferred route. We started the discussions over a month ago, from the 13th of August with the hope of resolving this (matter), but it seemed like it just wasn't being treated seriously," he added.

In the meantime, earlier yesterday SportsMax issued the release indicating they had indeed started the court proceedings against the
RJR Group.

The regional sports cable giant announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Television Jamaica Limited (TVJ), an entity affiliated with the RJR Communications Group.

According to SportsMax, "... the lawsuit claims damages for infringement of intellectual property rights. SportsMax contends in the suit that TVJ Sports Network (TVJ-SN), without any authority or licence, broadcast COPA America and England national team matches on TVJ-SN. TVJ-SN is the sports network which is owned and operated by TVJ."

In its claim filed in the Supreme Court of Jamaica yesterday, SportsMax outlined the observed breaches of copyright which included the airing of SportsMax content on TVJ Sports Network.

They contended that neither TVJ nor TVJ-SN had the requisite broadcasting rights to air these broadcasts.
SportsMax, through its parent company International Media Content, is also the exclusive rights holders for the COPA America and England national football team home matches and has not given authorisation for TVJ-SN to show this content.

According to president and CEO of SportsMax, Oliver McIntosh, the breaches committed by TVJ via their sports station, TVJ-SN, had been observed on a few occasions.
"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but the flattery ends where our copyright is being infringed upon as the core of our business is the investment we make to secure regional content on a live and exclusive basis," noted McIntosh.

According to the company, "A previous breach by the RJR Group of SportsMax's rights occurred earlier this year, when a West Indies vs New Zealand 2006 one-day international match was broadcast on TVJ-SN without authorisation.

"SportsMax holds the exclusive broadcast rights for all cricket played in New Zealand and issued a cease and desist letter at that time."

In the meantime, in explaining their reason for taking action against the RJR Group, chairman of SportsMax Limited, Patrick Rousseau, said: "These breaches occurred on multiple occasions, which is a blatant disregard for the rights held by SportsMax. Not only was the broadcast of the content a breach of our broadcast rights, but also the manner in which the matches were obtained by TVJ was illegal and unauthorised".

Rousseau added: "As a member and supporter of the Media Association of Jamaica's campaign for the protection of intellectual property rights, one would expect compliance by TVJ and the RJR Group. This incident unfortunately brings into question what broadcast rights are actually held by TVJ."

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