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Jeff Albertson Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 24 March 2007 Location: United States Posts: 451
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 1:09pm | IP Logged | 1
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I find it hard to believe that Dark Horse would do such a thing, simply because it is so similar and your friends project has already gotten some press. It could be simple audacity, I guess, but I don't see Mike Richardson, who has successfully kept a diverse company going for 20+ years doing something so stupid. It's definitely a public relations problem, though, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him drop the book to avoid the publicity.
But I agree that if your friends genuinely think they have been wronged, they need to consult an attorney to explore their options. Not to do so would be foolish.
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Brian Hunt Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 5178
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 3:50pm | IP Logged | 2
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I agree with Mr. Al Cook.
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Anthony J Lombardi Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 January 2005 Location: United States Posts: 9410
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:16pm | IP Logged | 3
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FYI - "Shaun of the Dead" came out in 2004.
FYI I know when Shaun of the Dead came out. Dark Horse's comic didn't come out till 2004 or later. So they can argue the point that it was an inspiration or just a coincidence. I remember when Armagaddon came out another film came out at the same time about a meteor coming to destroy earth. Unless there are distinct visual liknesses involved. I believe they might be hard pressed to get a winning out come here. Also if they wanted to get legal here, Can these independent creators afford the legal battle with Dark Horse if it came to that?.
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Matt Hawes Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 16508
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:18pm | IP Logged | 4
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CJ wrote:
...So if the timeline above is correct, they beat Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright to this little slice of intellectual property... |
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I can say that Matthew Billman and Christopher Herndon were working on "Living With Zombies" before "Shaun of The Dead" was released in the US, and they were not aware of the movie coming out.
Edited by Matt Hawes on 06 November 2007 at 4:18pm
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Al Cook Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 December 2004 Posts: 12736
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:20pm | IP Logged | 5
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"I agree with Mr. Al Cook."
Yikes! Probably not the best thing to go on record saying...
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Ted Mederson Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 October 2007 Posts: 101
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:24pm | IP Logged | 6
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No offnese to your friends, but it's a pretty generic idea - I doubt anything would hold up in court. You might as well try and lay claim to "romantic comedies".
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Al Cook Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 December 2004 Posts: 12736
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:29pm | IP Logged | 7
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It's the sequence of events between the independent creators and the
approach from Dark Horse that may make this worth pursuing. Certainly no
harm in them consulting a qualified legal professional to see what they
think!
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Zaki Hasan Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 20 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 8105
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:29pm | IP Logged | 8
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This is from Rich Johnston's latest column in regards to this issue:
Mike Richardson writes
to say, "Despite the similarities, LIVING WITH THE DEAD was created
with no help from the creators of LIVING WITH ZOMBIES. We are not in
the business of stealing the ideas of others. Here is the e-mail I sent
to the creators of the other strip:
I
understand from Jeremy that you are concerned that my comic, LIVING
WITH THE DEAD, may have somehow been derivative of your LIVING WITH
ZOMBIES. I can see why you might jump to that conclusion when
considering the similarity of subject matter, but I can assure you that
your concerns are unfounded.
My only exposure to
your creation came when I was approached by one of my editors some time
back about a possible resemblance to an on-line comic he was interested
in publishing in comic form. Because of the possible similarities, I
passed on the project and purposely have not EVER looked at it.
LIVING WITH THE DEAD came about this way:
Years ago, one of the
LIVING DEAD movies took place in a mall. When I saw it, It occurred to
me that all the stuff in that mall was there for the taking. In fact,
the whole post-apocalyptic world was full of stuff . . . buildings
electronics, wine, cars, etc., waiting for the survivors. As I
fashioned the actual story, it seemed that if two buddies survived,
they could make lemonade out of the lemon they were handed. First, they
find that they can move freely by wearing zombie disguises (zombies
aren't too smart.) Their success at blending in allows them build their
own paradise. The best of friends. Buddies forever. Pals to the end . .
. until a girl shows up. The recent Shawn movie got me thinking about
the idea again and as a result, I wrote the comic series. Writer Andy
Cosby gave me the title. He thought it would be a good idea to somehow
get LIVING DEAD into the title, thus LIVING with the DEAD.
Dark Horse is a company
that supports creator's rights. I would never consider ripping off
another creator of his/her idea. To the contrary, we have spent our own
money to restore content rights to their rightful owners. Since I
started Dark Horse, I have continually created stories and characters
for our publications. I have plenty of ideas of my own and have no
desire or need to steal content from another creator.
I hope your project does well for you, and feel free to call me anytime if you'd like to discuss.
Best,
Mike
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Al Cook Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 December 2004 Posts: 12736
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:30pm | IP Logged | 9
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And Ted, I'm deeply in love with your avatar. If I asked, do you think it
would go out with me?
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Ted Mederson Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 October 2007 Posts: 101
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:44pm | IP Logged | 10
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She is wonderful, isn't she?
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Al Cook Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 December 2004 Posts: 12736
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | 11
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I must know her name! ('Cause thinking of her as "Ted" has got me messed
up in more ways than I care to count!)
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Dave Pruitt Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 6168
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Posted: 06 November 2007 at 5:20pm | IP Logged | 12
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Coincidence. Tell them not to waste their money on lawyers, unless they can get one that won't take payment until/unless there's a settlement or an award.
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