LOS ANGELES – An entertainment company and two other companies are seeking declaratory judgment regarding a dispute over a film's copyrights between them and the director and screenplay writer.
MGM Television Entertainment Inc., Orion Pictures Corp. and PFE Library Acquisition Co. Inc. filed a complaint on Nov. 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Earl M. Rauch and Walter D. Richter seeking declaratory judgment.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege Rauch and Richter made false statements regarding the ownership of the 1984 film "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" in an attempt to interfere with plaintiffs' plans to develop a show based on it. The plaintiffs allege that they are the owners of the film's copyrights
The plaintiffs seek declare that the defendants cannot prevent the reproduction of the television series "Buckaroo Banzai," order the defendants to stop asserting ownership rights to "Buckaroo Banzai," all legal fees and any other relief as this court deems just. They are represented by Robert H. Rotstein and Elaine K. Kim of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Case number 2:16-cv-08775