Trump’s lawsuit also cited agreements the BBC had with other distributors to show content, specifically one with a third-party media corporation, Blue Ant Media, that allegedly had licensing rights to distribute the programme “in North America, including Florida”.
Blue Ant previously confirmed it had acquired the distribution rights, but said none of the company’s buyers had aired the documentary in the US. It added that the version of the documentary it received “did not include the edit in question” as the international version had been “cut down in a number of places for time”.
Blue Ant is not named as a defendant in the case.
Responding on that point, the BBC said the allegation that the documentary was distributed in North America by Blue Ant “misses the mark as well”.
“In fact, no third-party distributor aired the documentary in the US,” the documents state.
The BBC also reiterated its defence that there was no malice in the edit and that Trump was not harmed by the programme, having been re-elected shortly after it aired.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us.
“Put simply – the documentary was never aired in Florida – or the US. It wasn’t available to watch in the US on iPlayer, online or any other streaming platforms including BritBox and BBC Select.
“We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the president’s claim.”
It is understood Trump has two weeks to respond to the motion to dismiss, although he may request a reasonable extension.