Oh no. Another horror franchise is headed to court.
A lawsuit over the rights to the intellectual property of the 1985 horror-comedy The Return of the Living Dead has been filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to a report on Deadline.
The report goes on to say that Living Dead Media LLC is the plaintiff, and claims it owns the copyright in the original screenplay and the underlying script for the film, as well as other trademarks. They plan to sue ROTLD Originals LLC, which was formed on July 07, 2024. It has yet to disclose its members, but court papers claim that ROTLD has no rights, title, or interest in the original film.
The formation document was signed by Beverly Randolph, who played Tina in the film. The court documents allege that other actors from the original film may be members and have not been disclosed.
“However, simply being an actor in a film does not grant or convey any particular rights to that character or any other character or any rights to the Original Film, any derivative works, or related intellectual property. Ms. Hartley has no rights, title, or interest in the Original Film.”
The suit claims that the new LLC uses Hartley’s credentials as an actor in the original film “to bolster the erroneous claims that Ms. Hartley and/or ROTLD have an interest in LDM’s intellectual property.” It claims that such actions “are attempting to interfere with active and existing contracts between LDM and these licensees.”
Stay tuned to Horror News Network for more on The Return of the Living Dead.
