A tourist resort had filed a breach of contract claim against the Hollywood studio and its Chinese production partner, with a court ordering them to pay $295,000. A Chinese court on Thursday ordered Viacom's Paramount Pictures and a Chinese production partner to pay $295,000, or 2 million yuan, including incurred legal fees, to a tourist resort in a breach of contract dispute over product placement in Transformers: Age of Extinction. The court in Chongqing found that Paramount and Chinese partner 1905 failed to fulfill their major obligations under the agreement, but later partially made up for it, the South China Morning Post reported, quoting China National Radio. The management company for the Wulong Karst National Geological Park had brought the lawsuit, saying the two sides had agreed that a logo of the resort would appear in the fourth Transformers film's final edit. The defendants had admitted that the logo didn't make the film, but they tried to make up for that by allowing director Michael Bay to make an advertising spot for the resort and leaving behind items built for the film as tourist attractions. The court rejected a counter claim filed by Paramount due to Wulong Karst’s decision to only pay part of the agreed-upon fees once it found out its name and logo did not appear in the film. Paramount Fined in Chinese 'Transformers 4' Dispute
Are they recycling this story? because I'm positive this same lawsuit came up right after TF4 came out. unless it's another one with a similar complaint
Given how much Paramount needs the Chinese market you'd think it would have been better for them to just settle out of court. It takes just about nothing to get a film blocked from a Chinese release so why stir the pot any at all?
It's less than $300,000.00.... A drop in the bucket compared to what they made on the film... Just pay it, grin and bear it.
