More reasons to hate Fox (and surprise, it isn’t political)
It looks like Zach Snyder’s long-anticipated adaptation of the Watchmen might not actually hit theaters next spring, if ever. Earlier this year, 20th Century Fox brought suit against Warner Brothers, alleging that they possessed ” exclusive copyright and contract rights” to “produce and develop the picture and to distribute the work throughout the world.”
Which is true, Fox obtained rights to produce a film version of the graphic novel in the 1980s, and proceeded to sit on them for twenty years. Warner Brothers, probably figuring that Fox would never actually go forward with a film, decided to go ahead and bankroll one. Figuring that if Fox were to sue them, it would be near the beginning of production, and not when the film was completed. Wrong.
Last week, a judge ruled in Fox’s favor, and today a spokesperson for Fox announced that the studio is seeking to delay the film’s release, which according to the New York Times, would probably not be decided until sometime in January.
Honestly, the only reasonable conclusion you can draw from this is that the folks at Fox are a bunch of dishonest pricks. And you should hate them. Alot.
Oh trust me, I already hate them for this. I would have understood suing at the beginning of the filming of Watchmen, or even mid production, but after the film is completed and a release date set? I’m surprised they won the court case.
I’m not sure I see what the problem is here. If Warner Bros. was stupid enough to think that a competitor would allow it to steal* the rights to something, and then would go out of its way to inflict the least possible harm in return, then I say they’ve got what’s coming to them. They “figured” Fox wouldn’t sue? What kind of dumbass lawyers do they have that rely on “figuring”?
*Whatever any of us think of intellectual property law, these two corporations, in theory, agree that what Warner has done is stealing.
I agree, I’m just annoyed that Fox waited until the film was completed and ready for release to sue. It seems less like they’re trying to protect their property rights, and more like they are trying to capitalize on work they didn’t do.
Yes, but that’s the nature of property rights, isn’t it? Being able to capitalize on work they didn’t do is part of HOW they protect their property rights, not a separate thing from it.
Conversely, the prospect of others capitalizing on your work is supposed to be incentive to make sure that all the ownership stuff is sorted out.