More on the Friday the 13th Ruling from Horror, Inc., Larry Zerner Weighs In

Last Friday, a federal court finally made a ruling on the Friday the 13th rights dispute and the judgment was rendered in favor of the defendant, Victor Miller, who wrote the screenplay for the original film. Now that the dust has settled and the ruling has been made available for public review, we are finally starting to see the big picture here as more information is being made available.

Before we get into the specifics of the ruling, it's worth hearing from Horror, Inc., the plantiffs in the case who disputed Miller's attempt to reclaim the rights to the original film here in the United States. The fine folks over at Bloody-Disgusting received a statement from the company, which is owned by Sean Cunningham, giving the first public remarks on the ruling.

This statement outlines several limitations in the scope of the ruling, which we have previously discussed, as the company considers its options moving forward. Among those options are taking this case to appeal, which could be an even lengthier process, or a settlement between the two gentlemen in dispute. Former Shelly actor and current copyright, trademark, and entertainment lawyer Larry Zerner took to Twitter and broke down what the ruling means and where the two sides can go from here.

We will leave this off with that excellent parting advice from Mr. Zerner. Make a deal and capitalize on the excellent place the horror genre is right now! As the statement from Horror, Inc. indicated, the company still has plans to explore any and all available Friday the 13th opportunities within the scope of their current rights as this situation continues to unfold, so considering a cooperative option also makes plenty of sense. That's all for now. Be sure to check back for all of the latest here on Dead Entertainment.

About the Author

Chris Morse

Programmer by day, writer by night. Having grown up surrounded by plenty of horror movies and video games, it only made sense for Chris to combine all of these passions into one place: Dead Entertainment. Whether he's working on designs, tinkering with the platform, or just writing up the latest horror news, he's sure to be hard at work keeping the wheels turning on this website no matter what time of day it is. When not coding or gaming, you can find him donning a Cheesehead and heading to the Midwest to cheer on his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. #GoPackGo

More Reading

Weekly Horror News Round-Up November 7: The Walking Dead, Friday the 13th: The Game, Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Plus, Hulu pulls the plug on Castle Rock, the Resident Evil film reboot adds to its cast, Demon's Souls get a fancy character creator, and more.

Friday the 13th: The Game Fittingly Joins Next Month’s Xbox Games with Gold Selection

The Jason Voorhees-centric multiplayer slasher will be free next month because ‘tis the season.

Friday the 13th: The Game Arrives on Nintendo Switch, Launch Trailer Released

Become (or survive) the ultimate slasher in the complete edition of the game, now available on the hybrid console.

Friday the 13th: The Game Finally Gets a Nintendo Switch Release Date

The title didn't quite make it out for the spring, but fans are eager to take their slashing (or surviving) on the go nonetheless.