More speculation that the Seth Rogen/James Franco movie The Interview was the catalyst for the Sony hack...
Yet more documents have been released over the weekend as a consequence of the hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. And what's more, Sony's legal team is now fighting back.
Varietyreports that the studio has been contacting outlets making use of the material acquired, telling them that "We are writing to ensure that you are aware that SPE does not consent to your possession, review, copying, dissemination, publication, uploading, downloading or making any use of the stolen information."
Amongst the outlets thus far that have received the letter, from Sony's attorney, are Varietyand TheNew York Times.
Since news of the hack first appeared, there's been speculation that it may have something to do with the upcoming Seth Rogen movie, The Interview. This is the film that the North Korean authorities complained to the United Nations about. The plot of The Interview follows an attempt to assassinate North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and a statement published by the North Korean official news agency called the film an "act of war" back in the summer.
So: is the hack related to that? Is this an act of revenge in part by the North Korean authorities? We may well never know, but the letter Sony's lawyers have sent out argues that the hack is part of "an ongoing campaign explicitly seeking to prevent SPE from distributing a motion picture." And that motion picture is hardly likely to be Annie, is it?
If it is an attempt to derail the release ofThe Interview, then arguably every news story based on materials gleamed from the hack is doing the hackers' work for them. Interestingly, at the bottom of its news story, Variety lists a 2001 legal precedent for 'using stolen materials for newsgathering purposes'. It might just be that lawyers are being gathered on both sides...
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