Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart PLLC
Newsletter – Volume 23, Issue 23
Share on Social

Remaking Friday the 13th
By Kristyn Webb
Happy Friday the 13th! You may recall our last article on this theme was authored by Norm Freda. Here is a brief recap before we update you on the latest in the legal battle over the copyrights to the classic horror film Friday the 13th.
Back in 1979, Victor Miller was hired to write a screenplay that would later become the Friday the 13th movie released in 1980. He was paid around $9,200 and the film went on to make $40 million at the box office and spawned nearly a dozen sequels, several video games, a television series, along with music and merchandise. Fast forward to 2016, Miller sought to reclaim his ownership in the copyright of the screenplay. Under United States copyright law, an author of a work may terminate an assignment or license of a copyright decades after the assignment or license was made. This allows an author to “claw back” their copyrights—which happens more often when a work becomes commercially valuable. For example, Disney’s Marvel franchise has been fighting legal battles with the estates of the artists who created characters such as Spider Man, Doctor Strange, Thor, Black Widow, and Iron Man. However, when an employee creates a work within the scope of their employment, the work is “made for hire” and the employer is considered the author of a work.
After years of litigation and appeals, Miller won back his copyrights. He was not an employee, so, Miller retained his status as the screenplay’s author. Though he had assigned his rights to his employer in 1979, as the author, he was entitled many decades later to terminate that assignment and reclaim his copyrights in the screenplay.
Now, the producer of the 1980 film, Sean Cunningham, has announced plans to move forward with another story in the Friday the 13th universe. Many of the elements recurring in the sequels and derivatives that followed the 1980 film incorporated protected elements of Miller’s screenplay. Procuring rights from Miller to make further sequels or spin-offs may be expensive, or even impossible. So, Cunningham has announced plans to shift course and make a prequel. This strategy may help him navigate around the copyrighted elements owned by Miller, without sacrificing too much of the established storyline or creating narrative plot holes that might riddle a sequel or equal story.
The prequel, called “Crystal Lake” is set to be a television series to be released in 2024. For fans of the franchise, this is long overdue, since the last film was released in 2009. For copyright fans, this is another plot twist in the ongoing saga of Friday the 13th.
Kristyn Webb is the Group Leader of Fishman Stewart’s Copyright Practice Group, and is currently earning a Master’s Degree in Copyright Law at King’s College London.

Related Content from Fishman Stewart
In February, Nike and Skims announced that they will be working together on a new brand, NikeSkims. The co-brand will create a new line of training apparel, footwear, and accessories specifically designed to meet the unique needs of women athletes.
Generally, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright cases, and often, this presents an insurmountable paywall for individual artists and small businesses to vindicate their rights, especially where the value of the individual copyrighted works are relatively low.
Dedicated to raising public awareness about the importance of encouraging innovation and creativity throughout the world, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annually observes World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 to showcase the role that patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights and trade secrets play in our everyday lives.
Hold onto your foam fingers, sports fans – college sports just got a whole lot more interesting! The latest updates to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules are making student-athletes bigger than ever, and it’s not just about the game anymore.
Did a federal court in Louisiana recently decide that US copyrights are global rights? It seems so.
L.A.B. Golf aims to protect its innovations, and therefore its market position, owning three patents for its zero-torque design. The question now is whether L.A.B. Golf can withstand the wave of copycat designs.
One of his most famous songs, “Lose Yourself” was recently at the center of a lawsuit. In 2019, Eminem’s publishing company Eight Mile Style sued Spotify claiming that Spotify streamed a number of its musical compositions without proper licenses.
Our latest article tackles three common trademark questions: 1. Can I trademark my own name? 2. Can I trademark the name of a fictional character? 3. Can I trademark the name of a U.S. president or British royal?
One of the most common challenges is whether AI should be free to train on data that is protected by copyright and owned by third parties without first obtaining permission.
Like the titles of single creative works, character names do not generate trademark rights unless used for a series of creative works (meaning two or more). A year ago, Jane Wick, LLC filed a trademark application for the mark JANE WICK in logo format.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
