After several delays, the trial in the litigation over the movie rights to Dungeons & Dragons is scheduled for July 1. The suit was filed by Wizards of the Coast and parent Hasbro against Sweetpea last May (see "WotC Sues"), alleging trademark and copyright infringement over Sweetpea’s plan to make a Dungeons & Dragons movie with Warner Bros. Hasbro had its own plans to make a D&D movie with Universal (see "Dueling 'D&D' Movies"), so needed to free up its longstanding relationship with Sweetpea.
Sweetpea filed a counterclaim, and both Sweetpea (see "'D&D' Movie Suit Dismissal Requested") and Hasbro filed motions for summary judgment.
The judge sorted out some of those issues with a ruling earlier this year. Hasbro’s direct copyright infringement claim was dismissed, because Hasbro could not prove that Sweetpea was directly involved in the creation of a work or product that infringed Hasbro’s copyright. On the other hand, Hasbro’s complaint for contributory infringement was allowed to stand, and Sweetpea’s motion for summary judgment on that issue was denied. Sweetpea’s motion on Hasbro’s trademark claims was also denied.
Hasbro was granted summary judgment on Sweetpea’s counterclaim for copyright infringement, and for Sweetpea’s counterclaims for false designation of origin and unfair competition and trademark dilution.
So basically, Sweetpea’s counterclaim was tossed, and Hasbro can move forward to trial with almost all of its claims against Sweetpea.
There are some indications that settlement talks may be underway, including the fact that the last two delays in the trial date were at the request of the parties. The stakes are certainly higher now that the D&D property is about to undergo a highly publicized relaunch (see "New 'D&D' Dates, Info, and Pics"); it’s a great time to make a movie.
Pre-Trial Ruling Favored Hasbro
Posted by ICv2 on May 23, 2014 @ 1:26 am CT
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