Federal Judge Gary Allen Feess ruled against Warner Bros. on Monday in a lawsuit brought by Fox to stop the release of Warner’s Watchmen film, due out next March.  Feess refused to dismiss the case, and ordered the parties to proceed with discovery and prepare for trial on an expedited schedule.  The tangled case goes back to the late 80s, when Fox obtained an option to produce a film based on the graphic novel. 

Warner Bros. issued a statement commenting on the ruling.  “The court’s ruling simply means that the parties will engage in discovery and proceed with the litigation,” the statement said.  “The judge did not opine at all on the merits, other than to conclude that Fox satisfied the pleading requirements.  We respectfully disagree with Fox’s position and do not believe they have any rights in and to this project.”

Fox also released a statement, specifying its goals.  “We will be asking the Court to enforce Fox’s copyright interests in The Watchmen (sic) and enjoin the release of the Warner Brothers film….”

Some are comparing the case to a dispute over Dukes of Hazzard involving Warner Bros., heard by the same judge, in which Warner ended up paying a major amount of money (variously described as tens of millions of dollars or $17.5 million) in conjunction with the settlement of the rights dispute.