Robert Huntsman

Robert Huntsman (born March 9, 1955, Idaho Falls, Idaho)[1] is an American copyright attorney, engineer, and inventor. He first entered the national spotlight for his association with the CleanFlicks video rental chain during their legal battle with the Directors Guild of America. Huntsman continues practicing law as principal of a small firm located in Boise, Idaho.[2]

CleanFlicks Lawsuit

Robert Huntsman had been advising Corey Smitheram, former operator of four Idaho and Colorado Cleanflicks franchises,[3] and had a patent pending on DVD editing software[4] similar to ClearPlay, when on August 20, 2002, ClickFlicks learned of the DGA's intention to sue via a posting on the DGA Web site that the guild and 12 directors intended on suing seven entities that engage in the video-editing practice.

CleanFlicks and Huntsman preemptively filed suit against the DGA on August 29, naming 16 renowned directors as defendants in U.S. District Court for the district of Colorado, seeking the Court's determination as to whether their editing practices are protected under federal copyright law. Also, the preemptive filing ensured the impending legal battle would play out in Colorado courts rather than in California.

As the case made national headlines, its short byline read "Huntsman v. Soderbergh". The docket header read:

ROBERT HUNTSMAN and CLEAN FLICKS OF COLORADO, L.L.C.,

Plaintiffs,
v.

STEVEN SODERBERGH, ROBERT ALTMAN, MICHAEL APTED, TAYLOR HACKFORD, CURTIS HANSON, NORMAN JEWISON, JOHN LANDIS, MICHAEL MANN, PHILLIP NOYCE, BRAD SILBERLING, BETTY THOMAS, IRWIN WINKLER, MARTIN SCORSESE, STEVEN SPIELBERG, ROBERT REDFORD and SYDNEY POLLACK[5]

On July 6, 2006, a federal judge in Denver ruled that CleanFlicks' editing violated U.S. copyright laws. The judge ordered the company to "stop producing, manufacturing, creating, and renting" edited movies, and to hand all inventory to movie studios within five days of the ruling."[6] The court gave the company more time than the ruling's initial 5-day deadline for turning over the stock of edited movies, since CleanFlicks needed more time to receive movies which were still out on rental.[7]

Early Internet

Huntsman had registered the domain "qq.com" as early as 1995, which was sold to Asian internet giant Tencent whose primary product is the online messaging service known simply as "QQ".[8]

Current Activity

Huntsman currently operates litigation practice that includes a Federal Court litigation practice, an Idaho State Court litigation practice, and a Public Interest litigation practice. Huntsman is also a registered patent attorney, licensed to prepare and prosecute patent applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A former Hewlett-Packard software engineer, his website claims Huntsman to be one of few patent attorneys with significant software development experience.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Huntsman-Gifford Genealogy
  2. ↑ HuntsmanLG Website
  3. ↑ People Magazine, G-Rated Revolutionary, Feb. 17, 2003.
  4. ↑ Variety, CleanFlicks vid chain sues helmers, Aug. 29, 2002.
  5. ↑ Directors Guild of America Website DGA Answer, Sep. 20, 2002.
  6. ↑ Salt Lake Tribune, Utah film sanitizers ordered to cut it, July 8, 2006.
  7. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, CleanFlicks gets more time to surrender doctored films, July 13, 2006.
  8. ↑ Industry Information Station, QQ.CN become IDC business of Heilongjiang Unicom new domain name, Sep. 20, 2011.
  9. ↑ HuntsmanLG Website
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