Who Watches the Watchmen? Smart Business People Should
The seminal graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons centers around an unlikely grouping of retired superheroes fighting to stave off a disaster of epic proportions. Recently, the attempt by Warner Brothers to release a movie based on the graphic novel has generated a legal controversy which could be a disaster of epic proportions for Warner Brothers, unless an even more unlikely group of heroes, a group of corporate lawyers, can save the day.
Specifically, the right of Warner Brothers to release the film has been the subject of a contract dispute in which 20th Century Fox is claiming a copyright interest in the release of the film. In fact, late last year, a Court in Los Angeles ruled in Fox’s favor. The situation has now become deadly serious for the team at Warner Brothers as the 139 million dollar film is scheduled to be released on March 6, 2009.
The crux of the legal issue is the purchase of the movie rights by Fox in the late 1980’s with the intent to produce a film. Fox eventually abandoned the project and it took nearly 20 years before a film version was finally made in the last two years by Warner Brothers.
However, a ray of hope has emerged recently as the two sides are engaged in serious settlement discussions to resolve the issue. The hope from all concerned, from the fans awaiting the film to the executives who’s careers may hang in the balance, is that these settlement discussions will, in fact, settle the dispute.
Is there a lesson in all this? There are several. First of all, this whole situation shows the absolute necessity of doing your homework as to any project you undertake as a business. Had Warners done so, they might have been able to avoid this issue entirely.
The second is an illustration of the power of documentation. As we’ve noted before, proper contract preparation is imperative to protecting your business interests. The fact that a federal court determined that the contracts that Fox signed 20 years ago still have power and effect today shows the value of recording your business dealings in writing.
The third and final thing we can take from this is the value of settlement. At the end of the day, both sides are realizing that they need to settle the issue. There is nothing to be gained by continuing to fight, just for the sake of fighting. A protracted battle over the issue would not only jeopardize the film’s profitability, but would erode the good will of the fans towards both Warners and Fox. Regardless of the personal rancor between the sides, cooler heads need to eventually prevail and settle the issue.
