VidAngel's Fate in Legal Limbo

PROVO, Utah -- The fate of  VidAngel, a streaming service that allows families to filter the entertainment they watch in their own homes, remains in limbo after a federal judge chose not to rule immediately on the case Monday. 

The Disney Company is seeking a preliminary injunction, essentially asking a judge to shut down the operation before the case goes to trial. 

VidAngel was born in Provo, Utah, not far from the Sundance Film Festival. Less than a year after starting, the filtering service company was slapped with a lawsuit from Hollywood studios. 

Neal Harmon is a husband and father of young children and one of the creators of the service.
 
"Having young children and wanting the product for our own families - that's what drove it because the product didn't exist," he Harmon told CBN News.

He explained, "You buy a movie, a favorite popular movie or TV show, and once you own it, you can legally set filters. You filter it for racial slurs, for sexual language, for violence, for nudity -- just according to whatever your preferences are. And then you can watch the movie according to your specification in your home."

Users can then sell that selection back to VidAngel for credit towards another, making it possible to watch a movie for one to to dollars. 

Meanwhile, the streaming service remains hopeful as it continues to fight for its survival. 

"So far as we can tell they want to put VidAngel out of business," said VidAngel's attorney, David Quinto.

Quinto, who is leading VidAngel's fight against Disney, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros, is quite familiar with the industry. He spent nearly 30 years working for Hollywood studios before signing on with the streaming service.

"We have called the court's attention to the fact that 40,000 people voluntarily donated to money to VidAngel's legal defense fund without getting anything in return," Quinto said.

So far, VidAngel supporters have invested $10 million for its legal defense, written more than 8,000 support letters and more than 16,000 emails.

The company's creative team is also hard at work on fun ways to make their case even clearer to those customers.       

"There is a feeling in the air and a sense among the people that use VidAngel that justice is on our side. Ultimately, we just need to get there," Harmon told CBN News.

Monday's hearing is the first for this case, but a full trial may not come for another year.