Watchmen Lawsuit Pt. 2: Legal Claims

On February 2, 2008, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, Central District of California against Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WB) et. al. in relation to WB’s production of Zack Snyder's Watchmen movie. Fox made the following claims against WB: 1) copyright infringement, 2) interference with contract, 3) breach of contract, 4) an accounting of incomes, revenues and profits, and 5) declaratory relief. As might be obvious, the complaint outlined damages for each claim.

Most significantly, in addition to requesting actual or statutory damages in accordance with proof of each act of copyright infringement found in relation to Claim One, Fox is requesting "preliminary and permanent injunctive relief" enjoining WB from "reproducing, distributing, publishing, adapting, displaying, advertising, promoting, offering for sale or transfer and/or selling or transferring any production of The Watchmen or any work substantially similar to same." In other words, Fox is seeking to bury the Watchmen movie. In fact, on May 14, 2008, Fox notified Warner Bros. et al. through its attorneys that it should cease in any such activity. No injunction has been entered to prevent WB from promoting or advertising the film so WB continues to advertise and promote the film in anticipation of a March 6, 2009 release. Whether the film is released as anticipated depends on a number of things.