New Ruling in Watchmen Case

Posted by Stephanie Cox Dec 27, 2008

A judgment came earlier than expected in the latest drama surrounding the long-awaited film adaptation of Alan Moore's classic "Watchmen" graphic novel. Fox Studios originally filed the Watchmen lawsuit after the completion of the film earlier this year.

A court date was originally set for January 20, 2009 on whether or not Fox Studios actually owns the copyright for the movie that Warner Brothers paid for and made to completion. Instead, an LA court judge presiding over the suit issued an unexpected Christmas morning summary of the case.

The result brought a welcome surprise for Fox Studios, which maintains that it owns the copyright to Watchmen even though the film, which went through 4 different studios on its nearly 20 year journey to the big screen, was completely financed and produced under Warner Brothers studio.

Questions Remain After Watchmen Ruling

Despite a definitive conclusion on who owns the film rights to one of the best selling and most critically acclaimed graphic novels of all time, the future of the film is surely as full of as many twists as the epic graphic novel it is based on.

Fox Studios has several options at this point: accept a cash settlement from Warner Bros and proceed with the movie's March 6, 2009 premiere date or possibly upset a large fan base by delaying the release of the movie in order to recover complete control over advertising and distribution. Warner Brothers on the other hand has at this point the only option of appealing the decision.

The real question that many fans are asking is why on Earth this Fox Studios pass on making the movie itself dozens of times and instead wait until the movie was completely done before filing a lawsuit?