Friday the 13th Legal Battle Takes its Next Turn as Horror, Inc Files Notice of Appeal
It would seem that this dispute is going to drag on even longer.
By Chris Morse
After yesterday's report on what might come next for the Friday the 13th legal dispute between Sean Cunningham's Horror, Inc and original screenwriter Victor Miller, we apparently did not have a very long wait ahead of us to find out where this case is headed next. Horror, Inc was given until October 31st to file a Notice of Appeal or agree on a settlement with Miller, but the sides appear to be no closer to any kind of agreement as Cunningham has opted to start the appeal process right away.
What this means, simply put, is that the case will move up to a higher court and this dispute will drag on longer, once again leaving the time frame wide open on when a full resolution might be reached. Considering that Cunningham did not waste any time filing his Notice of Appeal, we can safely conclude that he and Miller still have a long way to go before this matter will be resolved.
Well, Sean didn't wait the full 30 days to file the Notice of Appeal, which I would take to mean that Sean and Victor are not close to reaching a settlement. https://t.co/TO7cq1tdwv
— Larry Zerner (@Zernerlaw) October 18, 2018
If you need a refresher, we've got you covered. Essentially, the Copyright Act includes a provision that the original rights holder can use to reclaim what they once owned for any number of reasons. For example, if a bad deal was made many years prior or the value of the property has since shifted in such a way that might warrant a new or better deal, this is a tool that creators can use to secure the rights back.
In this case, there were some factors in dispute, such as whether Miller was considered an employee or not when he first wrote the film. Thus, the argument moved into the courts and was in limbo for quite some time, which led to the eventual cancellation of future content for the video game. The court eventually made its initial ruling in favor of Miller's argument but this ruling has since been appealed and will move up into a higher court as the battle drags on.
As per usual, we will keep you updated with all the latest developments here on Dead Entertainment.
Here's What's Next in the Friday the 13th Legal Battle
Larry Zerner breaks down what has to happen next for this legal matter to be resolved.
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