Damn, it’s like all or nothing and like parties already claimed, they’ll be no settlement.
Lawyers for both 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. have agreed to let the federal judge rule on their copyright dispute and whether WB will be allowed to /whether Fox can block the release of “Watchmen” in the spring or not according to the L.A. Times.
This means they will forgo a trial and that means it’s all in U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess’ hands – who geeks know by name now (soon they’ll know his address too).
“In court papers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, attorneys for Fox and Warner Bros. jointly said they would let the judge decide Jan. 20 whether Fox could block the film’s theatrical distribution, now scheduled for March 6, as Fox has been seeking all along as part of its copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros.”
Feess already ruled on Christmas eve that Fox, not Warner Bros. owned the right to distribute the film, so this feels like a little bit like Russian roulette on the part of the WB and furthermore this could seriously delay the film which nerds will FREAK over, like teenage breakdown, ugly cry, tantrum, etc. etc.
On December 30, Warner’s was confident, despite that ruling not in their favor that things would go their way and despite that the judge urged them all to settle. “We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court’s ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options. We continue to believe that Fox’s claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals,” they wrote a the time.
Man, they could be eating their words and if they feel like Warner’s could have settled they’re going to be MAD at everyone involved. Woo! This whole debacle is kind of fun to watch. BTW, D-Day for this Watchmen decision is on January 20, mark your calendars.