Here's What's Next in the Friday the 13th Legal Battle

Our favorite Friday the 13th actor turned copyright, trademark, and entertainment lawyer Larry Zerner is back with another edition of "what happens next in the legal battle over the rights to the franchise?" Earlier this month, an initial ruling was made in the matter of Horror Inc v Victor Miller in a dispute over the Copyright Act with respect to the rights to the original film. That initial ruling sided with Miller, making a settlement or appeal all the more likely to be the next step in resolving this matter.

We now have a deadline of sorts in place for when we will know where this lawsuit goes next. Zerner took to Twitter, as he usually so helpfully does to provide information and clarification on this case, and mentioned that the deadline for Sean Cunningham of Horror Inc to file a Notice of Appeal is very appropriately on October 31st. If this notice is filed, the case goes on for the time being but there exists the possibility of a settlement between the parties before then.

If nothing is filed by that date, the legal matter will have been settled, which we would find out shortly after that happens. Here is the breakdown on where this case stands, courtesy of Zerner.

This appeal will likely be filed unless the two parties cut a deal to end this dispute, which is an option that might be in doubt for now, according to comments about Friday the 13th: The Game from Gun Media's Wes Keltner, who mentioned that Miller has so far shown no interest in talking over a settlement with Horror Inc, instead letting the process play out to keep a grasp on the leverage granted to him by the initial ruling.

We expect that they will have to agree to some kind of terms at the end of this dispute regardless of which route it takes, but the main factors hanging in the balance here are the length of time this matter will take to conclude as well as any numbers pertaining to the financial side of this. Given the current mainstream success of the horror genre, it would appear that ending this sooner rather than later would be in everyone's best interest should either Miller or Cunningham desire to cash in on it.

As per usual, we will keep you updated of all of the latest developments 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

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