Zap 2 It 10/31/03
'Mutant X' Producer Sues Marvel
Friday, October 31, 2003
01:19 PM PT
The producer of the syndicated series "Mutant X" is suing Marvel Enterprises, claiming that Marvel committed fraud in granting the rights to the show.
Tribune Entertainment is asking for $100 million in damages, according to news reports. The suit, filed this week in New York, comes a month after Tribune and 20th Century Fox settled a different lawsuit over "Mutant X." (Tribune Entertainment is a division of the Tribune Co., which also owns Zap2it.com.)
At issue in both cases are similarities between "Mutant X" and "X-Men," the Marvel Comics property that 20th Century Fox has turned into two hugely successful feature films. As the series was about to launch in 2001, 20th Century Fox sued Tribune claiming that the show was "a knockoff" of "X-Men" and might damage the value of its property.
The "X-Men" movies and "Mutant X" both feature warring groups of mutants with extraordinary powers.
Tribune's suit alleges that Marvel misrepresented the scope of Fox's rights to the "X-Men" characters. Marvel assured Tribune that 20th Century Fox had no rights to a TV series; at the same time, however, Fox told Marvel of "very serious concerns" it had about the show.
"Based on those communications, Marvel knew or should have known that Fox would complain about any real or perceived linkage between 'Mutant X' and 'X-Men,'" the suit charges. "However, Marvel did not tell Tribune about Fox's expressed concerns."
Tribune claims it has lost millions of dollars on "Mutant X" because it had to alter characters and storylines in wake of the 20th Century Fox suit. Marvel hasn't commented on the Tribune suit.
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