Black Mirror: Bandersnatch has become one of Netflix’s most talked about programs on the streaming service. While watching, viewers are given the option to choose what happens next in the story, scene by scene. While the film is enjoying the hype surrounding it, Netflix is about to face a legal battle regarding the concept.
USA Today is reporting that Chooseco LLC, a small Vermont book publisher that publishes interactive books where the readers chose what happens next, is suing Netflix over their usage of the phrase “choose your own adventure.” The publisher has a federally registered trademark for the phrase in usage with its books. The opening scene of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch features a character referring to a book as a “choose your own adventures” book. Chooseco states that Netflix used the phrase without authorization and that the dark nature of the film paints the publisher’s books in a dark light. The lawsuit states that “Chooseco has already suffered reputational harm due to viewers’ negative associations with Bandersnatch.”
Related – Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Highlight The Difficulties Of Creating A Choose Your Own Adventure
Chooseco Co-founder and Publisher Shannon Gilligan had the following to say regarding the lawsuit:
“We have received an unprecedented amount of outreach from people who believed we were associated with the creation of this film, including parents who were concerned that we had aligned the (“Choose Your Own Adventure”) brand they knew and loved with content that surprised and offended them.”
Netflix has yet to comment regarding the lawsuit. Chooseco is suing for $25 million or profits made off the film.
Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page!
Source: USA Today.
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
