More Information on Zuffa LLC’s Lawsuit with Pro Elite/Elite

We have a little more information about Zuffa LLC’s (UFC’s) new lawsuit against Pro Elite/Elite Xtreme Combat, in which EliteXC allegedly infringed on UFC’s copyrights. I talked about the lawsuit yesterday.
According to Dave Meltzer at Wrestling Observer, EliteXC used video footage of past UFC events during its initial broadcast on Feb. 10. The show, which took place at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss., aired on SHOWTIME for approximately 350,000 viewers.
From Wrestling Observer:

Zuffa contends registered footage from UFC Japan, UFC 16, UFC 17, UFC Brazil, UFC 22, and UFC 45 — dating from Dec. 1997 to Nov. 2003 — was unlawfully utilized by Showtime and Pro Elite in its broadcast. The lawsuit also contends the defendant’s use of said material “created a likelihood of confusion among the public as to the original source of same [the footage] and contributed to the dilution of the distinctive quality of Zuffa’s and the UFC’s work in the marketplace.”

If EliteXC really used the footage without permission, you have to wonder what in the hell they were thinking. There was virtually no chance that something like that would fly under the radar, and Zuffa can be downright ruthless when it comes to protecting its intellectual property.
If nothing else, the lawsuit has brought EliteXC some media exposure — albeit for all the wrong reasons.