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DISNEY SUED OVER 'DAMAGED REPUTATION"

BURBANK - Equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. has sued to block the upcoming US release of The Walt Disney Company's "George of the Jungle 2," film, alleging that the direct-to-DVD movie damages the heavy equipment maker's reputation.

The Peoria-based company's trademark infringement lawsuit contends the movie ties Caterpillar to an "evil attacking army" of industrialists seeking to destroy the jungle, a central theme of the Disney sequel.

Caterpillar contends the scenes will have a negative effect on children and could affect the company's line of children's products, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in US District Court in Peoria against the Walt Disney Co. and Buena Vista Entertainment.

"While we have great respect for Caterpillar, we consider this without legal merit and we expect the audience will view these sequences for their comedic value and not take them seriously," a spokesman for Disney said.
 
Caterpillar contends its name and its corporate logo are featured prominently in a final battle that pits George and his computer-animated animal friends against an army of Caterpillar Wheel Loaders a narrator calls "bulldozing bullies."

The lawsuit asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to block Tuesday's scheduled release of the movie and seeks an order that Disney destroy all offending material. No court date has been set.

The movie already has been released outside the US, the Disney spokesman said.

MGM CHANNEL DEBUTS IN SWITZERLAND, LIECHTENSTEIN

CANNES - MGM Networks and Teleclub AG, Switzerland's leading pay-TV provider, have launched the MGM Channel to Teleclub subscribers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The German- language channel is also available in English to Teleclub's Family Package subscribers.

The MGM Channel's launch into Switzerland and Liechtenstein makes 11 European countries that receive branded MGM networks. The Teleclub agreement is the latest of several recent MGM Networks announcements worldwide. Others include a Mandarin-subtitled channel in Hong Kong, a second MGM channel in South Korea and a strategic alliance with CNBC Asia Pacific.

Over the past two years, MGM Networks has rapidly expanded worldwide, more than quadrupling its channel interests to about 100 countries across six continents.

MGM Networks owns a film library of about 4,000 titles. Its operating units include MGM Pictures, United Artists, MGM Television Entertainment, as well as MGM Networks.
 
In addition, MGM has ownership interest in international television channels reaching about 100 countries around the globe.

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