ABS-CBN WINS LIBEL CASE FILED BY RIVAL GMA NETWORK!

THE Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld its ruling in August that turned down P100-million damage suit filed by GMA Network Incorporated against rival ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.

The case stemmed from two separate programs of ABS-CBN wherein its anchors had accused people from GMA of allegedly stealing a five-second video footage of the former, and portrayed them to their viewers as "thieves," "snatchers," and "usurpers."

Based on record, both ABS-CBN and GMA networks deployed news teams to cover the arrival in July 22, 2004 of de la Cruz, an overseas Filipino worker kidnapped in Iraq.

ABS-CBN conducted live audio-video coverage of and broadcasted the arrival of Angelo dela Cruz, a Filipino hostage victim in Iraq, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the subsequent press conference.

On account of their existing agreement, ABS-CBN’s news coverage was carried by the international news agency, Reuters, under the condition that it would be "embargoed" against use by other subscribers of the wire company in the country.

However, being a subscriber of both Reuters and CNN, GMA received the live video feed of the coverage of said arrival that was beamed by Reuters from the NAIA.

Immediately, GMA carried the Reuters feed in its flash news report simultaneously with its own live broadcast.

GMA later explained that it did notice that what Reuters was airing were footages of ABS-CBN and that said live video was under embargo in favor of the latter, prompting it to cut short the showing of the video.

Following the incident, GMA claimed that ABS-CBN aired a report about its alleged violation of its intellectual property rights, as well as downright defamatory statements from its anchors from two TV programs, prompting GMA to lodge a complaint-affidavit in 2004 charging ABS-CBN and its executives with libel.

In a resolution issued on December 3, 2004, the complaint for libel was dismissed by the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City for lack of probable cause.

On appeal, GMA elevated the case to the Department of Justice, which was also denied. The motion for reconsideration of the denial is still pending before the DOJ Secretary.

Subsequently, GMA filed its complaint for damages in November 2005 with the Quezon City RTC, which was later dismissed by the court due to prescription. Under the Civil Code, a civil case for defamation must be filed within one year.

However, acting on the motion for reconsideration of GMA, the trial court reinstated the civil case for damages but suspended such, pending the disposition of the criminal case for libel.

In November last year, a separate division of the CA cleared the owners and top executives of GMA of any criminal liability for alleged violation of the copyright infringement law in connection with the de la Cruz coverage.

The appellate court reversed the findings of former Justice Secretary Alberto Angra and affirmed that of then Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez that the showing of the live feed was committed in “good faith, and cannot be regarded as an infringement of copyright.” (JCV/Sunnex)

www.sunstar.com.ph