It was a little ironic. “Ruling Is Near On Limits Put on Film Copies” on p.4 of today’s NY Times, reports that a NY Federal court will issue a ruling soon on whether the MPAA can prohibit member studios from distributing copies of new movies to critics, given that such copies are apparently the source of piratical copying.  MPAA President Jack Valenti was quoted as testifying that movie piracy was “a malignant fungus on the face of our industry.”  Eech.

Three columns over was an article entitled “A Disney Unit Sets Global Box Office Record,” reporting that even before Christmas, Disney’s Buena Vista division has sold more than $3 billion in tickets this year, beating the record set by Sony last year of $2.86 billion.