Litigation surrounding the film and TV rights to Dick Tracy, which began last year when Warren Beatty filed suit against property owner Tribune Company, followed by a suit by Tribune Company against Beatty (see “Tribune Sues Beatty over Dick Tracy”), will continue in courts in Delaware and California, according to court rulings this week.  Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and had tried to get the Delaware federal bankruptcy court to rule that it owned the Dick Tracy property and to stop the suit Beatty filed in California, which sought to keep Tribune Company from reclaiming its rights on the basis that Beatty was not using them.  The rulings basically allow actions in both California and Delaware to proceed, although given the circumstances it would make sense for Beatty and Tribune Company to come to some kind of accommodation. 

Beatty has alleged that he was making a TV documentary about the character at the time Tribune Company attempted to reclaim its rights.