![]() The judge also dismissed Crabtree’s claim that he was defrauded when Kirkman falsely told him that his rights and financial interest in the series would remain unchanged if he signed the “Certificate of Authorship.” Like the claim for declaratory relief, she similarly reasoned that it was brought past the three-year statute of limitations for relief on the grounds of fraud. “Kirkman explicitly stated that the MTV money was not a ‘share’ owed to Crabtree and rather simply a bonus.” “But this interpretation - that Kirkman was affirming that he would honor the deal as Crabtree understood it - is impossible to square with Kirkman’s comments on the MTV deal,” Frimpong wrote. He pointed to statements from Kirkman that he “honored deal,” which Crabtree said was true at the time because he received royalties on certain derivative projects. In arguing otherwise, Crabtree cited his deposition testimony, which he argued shows that Kirkman ratified their agreement instead of repudiating it. Crabtree is represented by Devin McCrae, who was also Moore’s lawyer. “At no point in 2012 or later did Crabtree say anything that suggested he did not understand the implications of Kirkman’s statements.”ĭuring this conversation, Crabtree said of the agreement, “This is the same work for hire contract tony is suing you over at the momen, correct?” in a reference to Michael “Tony” Moore in a 2012 suit alleging that Kirkman tricked him out of his interest in The Walking Dead, which amicably settled on undisclosed terms in less than two months. “There is no doubt that Kirkman brought his belief in the existence of a ‘work for hire’ contract to Crabtree’s attention in 2012,” the order stated. ![]() According to the ruling, Kirkman contested Crabtree’s claim in 2012 that he has a copyright interest to Invincible, meaning that the latest he could bring a lawsuit was 2015. Under copyright law, the clock to assert a claim for co-ownership starts “when plain and express repudiation” is communicated. Frimpong found it’s time-barred under the three-year statute of limitations for copyright actions. This exchange served as the basis for dismissal of Crabtree’s primary claim for declaratory relief that he’s a joint author of Invincible. “You signed a work for hire contract on Invincible,” the Walking Dead creator wrote in a 2012 email. In one contentious discussion in 2012, Kirkman characterized a payment over MTV’s pursuit of a TV-based motion comic as a “bonus” rather than what Crabtree was contractually owed. Over the next 15 years, Kirkman continued to pay Crabtree for comic sales and in connection with licensures of the series by different studios. According to the complaint, Crabtree was told that signing the document wouldn’t affect his rights and financial interest in the original deal, which granted him 20 percent of single sale proceeds and 10 percent of any revenue generated from film or TV adaptations. The 2005 agreement stated that Kirkman was the “sole author” of Invincible and “owner of all rights of every kind and nature,” while characterizing Crabtree’s contributions as a “work-for-hire,” meaning that Kirkman was assigned any rights the colorist would’ve had to the series. Last year, Kirkman was sued for allegedly duping Crabtree into surrendering his ownership stake under the guise of making the title easier to sell to studios. ![]() 'Foe' Director Garth Davis on Crafting a Climate Change-Set Love Story That "Echoed the State of the Planet"
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