By Replace the Rear Window lens in the poster above with money signs, because Universal is at risk to lose a lot of their Disturbia profits over a lawsuit which refuses to die. It all began when a well known literary agent, Sheldon Abend, represented Cornell Woolrich, the author of the It Had to be Murder short story that was later expanded into the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film, Rear Window.
That means that in the 1980s when MCA (predecessor to Universal) showed Rear Window on television, Sheldon was able to sue for the rights to the “continued distribution of a derivative work during the copyright renewal period of the underlying work” which has been come to known as the Abend Rule.
Licensing and settlement agreements came about in 1991 & 1992, which gave MCA/Universal the right to distribute Rear Window with limited rights to exploit the film in different areas of advertising in return for a cut of the revenue. Since the Abend Trust felt like Disturbia‘s marketing campaign fed off the concept that it’s an unofficial remake, they unsuccessfully sued in 2008, and are now trying once again from a different angle. Judging by how easily the 2008…
Replace the Rear Window lens in the poster above with money signs, because Universal is at risk to lose a lot of their Disturbia profits over a lawsuit which refuses to die. It all began when a well known literary agent, Sheldon Abend, represented Cornell Woolrich, the author of the It Had to be Murder short story that was later expanded into the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film, Rear Window.
That means that in the 1980s when MCA (predecessor to Universal) showed Rear Window on television, Sheldon was able to sue for the rights to the "continued distribution of a derivative work during the copyright renewal period of the underlying work" which has been come to known as the Abend Rule.
Licensing and settlement agreements came about in 1991 & 1992, which gave MCA/Universal the right to distribute Rear Window with limited rights to exploit the film in different areas of advertising in return for a cut of the revenue. Since the Abend Trust felt like Disturbia's marketing campaign fed off the concept that it's an unofficial remake, they unsuccessfully sued in 2008, and are now trying once again from a different angle. Judging by how easily the 2008 case was dismissed, things don't look too promising for the Abend Trust.
[Via Hollywood Reporter]