On September 28, 2023, Kibler Fowler & Cave’s Entertainment & Intellectual Property Litigation practice group filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of its client, Evil Genius Games, Inc., a prolific developer and publisher of tabletop roleplaying games based on major motion picture franchises, against streaming giant Netflix.
As was reported in Reuters, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Forbes, Gizmodo, and several dozen other news outlets, Evil Genius is suing Netflix for breaching a contract for a tabletop roleplaying game tied to the streamer’s highly anticipated science-fiction movie by Zack Snyder, Rebel Moon. Pursuant to a licensing agreement executed in March 2023, Evil Genius delivered to Netflix a 228-page World Bible that expanded on Snyder’s vision for the Rebel Moon universe and provided a cohesive backstory for the entire Rebel Moon franchise, a 430-page Player’s Guide, and a 337-page Game Master’s Guide. The complaint describes how, following Evil Genius’ delivery of the World Bible and other ideas and concepts, Netflix terminated the licensing agreement in a bad faith attempt to hijack Evil Genius’ intellectual property by asserting ownership over parts of the project to use in the movie and to potentially release the game themselves to avoid sharing the profits. Evil Genius is seeking specific performance of the contract and damages. KF&C’s complaint can be found here.
The KF&C team includes Partner John Fowler, Counsel Tracy Rane, Senior Associate Kevin Cammiso and Paralegal Praveeta Garcia.
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