Fox Gets the Rights to Watchmen

You remember that lawsuit between Fox and Warner Bros. over the rights to Watchmen that could possibly delay the release of the film? Well...

In a surprise ruling, a federal judge in Los Angeles said he intended to grant 20th Century Fox’s claim that it owns a copyright interest in the “Watchmen,” a movie shot by Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures and set for release in March.

The decision was disclosed in a five-page written order issued on Wednesday. Gary A. Feess, a judge in the United States District Court for Central California, said he would provide a more detailed order soon.

At an earlier hearing, the judge said he believed that issues in the case could be settled only at a trial, which was scheduled for late January. On Wednesday, however, Judge Feess said he had reconsidered and concluded that Fox should prevail on crucial issues.

“Fox owns a copyright interest consisting of, at the very least, the right to distribute the ‘Watchmen’ motion picture,” the ruling said.

In ruling on Wednesday, Judge Feess advised both Fox and Warner to look toward a settlement or an appeal.

“The parties may wish to turn their efforts from preparing for trial to negotiating a resolution of this dispute or positioning the case for review,” he said.

So what does this mean? Well...

If no agreement is reached in two weeks time, the film could be delayed from it's March 6th release date to a possible summer date.

If Warner Bros. tries to go for an appeal, the film could be held up in legal battles for years and could possibly be denied a release until 2011.

Fox could simply not release the film.

I try not to cuss on here but... f*ck.

Sources: New York Times, /Film