Ah the internet is all the buzz about WB’s apparent hypocracy. See they filed against a movie titled Hari Puttar because “Warner Bros. values and protects intellectual property rights” and then news came out that Fox has not filed last minute against the Watchmen, in fact they have been trying to get WB to recognize their claim for a couple years now. Before WB even moved forward on production. Seems they didn’t “value intellectual property rights” unless its already theirs. They have no problem crossing the line of OTHER properties, but don’t dare come close to their own.
Fox paid for the rights to the intellectual property of Watchmen, and though WB owns Watchmen, they have a legal agreement with Fox to produce it which Fox alleges is still in place.
Stop a film’s release?! Even though WB (allegedly) illegally moved forward on the property when perhaps it wasn’t supposed to? YES! It’s called THE LAW!
I checked around town to nail down when exactly 20th Century Fox contacted WB in regards to Fox’s Quitclaim. I am told it was months before production even started and that Fox made plenty of attempts via e-mail, snail mail and phone to get WB to address the issue.
It’s hard to understand exactly what WB was thinking when they decided to move forward on Watchmen without first taking care of all the legalities. A source close to both studios tells the IESB that, “Fox reached out to WB in 2007, early 2008 and that WB simply dropped the ball, someone over at WB legal didn’t do his job.”
WB may have been caught with their pants down. I originally pointed the finger at Fox saying they were being the bitches starting the lawsuit over the rights to Watchmen at the last second when the WB was making the film over the last year. Well apparently proof comes out that Fox HAS been calling them on it and the WB just ignored them.
But the instinct is to side against WB in their OTHER lawsuit against Bollywood producers releasing a film called Hari Puttar for similiarities to their wizarding mega franchise Harry Potter. Its just not right that WB can (allegedly) violate intellectual property law on one day, and then sue someone for doing it to them the next. But you cant.
It sucks, but it is the law. Just because someone might be breaking one law doesn’t make them immune to the same law. Much like if someone breaks into your house, you might feel legally justified to beat the fuck out of them, but that is still considered assault.
Justice is blind. Not in that it doesn’t see what is happening, but in that it is blind to all other influences that might deviate it from its cause. Justice is the execution of the law. If the law is discarded because you feel bad, then Justice isn’t served.
So while I would agree with you, that if someone was to break into my house and I was home he would pay. Dearly. And I would likely face assault charges. Sounds stupid, but its the law.
The result of the Hari Puttar case will not have any bearing on the Watchmen Case. It sounds like Fox might have them by the short hairs, but that doesn’t mean WB cannot pursue its other legitimate cases.
