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 New York Times reported on Christmas Eve.

The decision was disclosed in a five-page written order issued on Dec. 24. Gary A. Feess, a judge in the United States District Court for Central California, said he would provide a more detailed order soon.

Fox has been seeking to prevent Warner from releasing the film. The superhero adventure, based on the Watchmen graphic novel, is being directed by Zack Snyder (300) and has shaped up as one of most eagerly anticipated releases for next year.

A Warner spokesman, Scott Rowe, declined to comment on the ruling and the studio's plans.

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=3&id=63130

This is really disappointing to the fans and is the same sort of crap that is keeping the Batman tv series from going to dvd, wish they'd come up with a solution or it's the fans loss really.

*Sits back in Marvel headquarters and laughs evily with Dr. Doom*

Source:The Associated Press




An attorney for 20th Century Fox says the studio will continue to seek an order delaying the release of Watchmen, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess last week agreed with Fox that Warner Bros. had infringed its copyright by developing and shooting the film, scheduled for release March 6.

Feess said Monday he plans to hold a trial Jan. 20 to decide remaining issues.

Fox claims it never fully relinquished story rights from its deal made in the late 1980s, and sued Warner Bros. in February. Warner Bros. contended Fox isn't entitled to distribution.

Warner Bros.' attorney said Monday he didn't know if an appeal was coming, but thinks a trial is necessary and a settlement unlikely.