Sam Raimi has prevailed in his effort to stop a production company from releasing an unauthorized sequel to his horror classic trilogy series The Evil Dead.
I am very happy about this news and it should set a precedent now for any other production companies trying to create unofficial sequels to established properties.
Doesn't Raimi own the rights, and one would need his permission to make a sequel (authorised or not) to the film anyway? Just 'cos Raimi hasn't made a sequel himself doesn't mean the rights open up to the public. So he shut down a production that he had every right to shut down.
Apparently Awards Pictures took a comment Raimi had made in 2000 about him saying there will never be another Evil Dead film and used it as a reason why they wanted to go ahead with one because with his statement they believed it signalled Raimi didn't want anything to do with the franchise any more (even though Evil Dead is remade).
Also Award Pictures tried years ago to do a sequel to Big Trouble in Little China.
I sincerely believe that George Lucas has surveillance set up all over the world looking out for people wanting to make Star Wars Episodes 7, 8 and 9 so they wouldn't get very far at all
I hope this case sets a precedent against this sort of thing.
It sounds like their plan is to muscle, or more like weasel, their way over others' rights, law be damned. It's as though they're arguing something like easment by prescription. Is there something similar to that in copyright law? If there is, sounds like bad law to me. Sounds very weaselly.
There wasn't a summary judgement, the court entered a permanent injunction. The topic is still open for debate because the injunction was entered as a result of Award Pictures not responding to the lawsuit in the time dictated by the court. The court didn't rule on the arguments or legality of the claim, they simply penalized Award for being tardy.
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