A Manhattan federal judge just ruled on March 27 that Warner Bros. Entertainment didn't plagiarize the plot of its 2022 film The Batman from Christopher Wozniak, Reuters reported.
Wozniak had accused the production of stealing his work about the Caped Crusader from 30 years ago.
However, plot twist, the judge also said that Wozniak was the one who committed copyright infringement against DC Comics, since he worked for them as a freelance artist when he wrote the story The Ultimate Riddle, which was then retitled as The Blind Man's Hat.
The writer's lawyer said in an email, “We respectfully disagree with the court's decision and are considering our next steps.”
In his lawsuit, Wozniak claimed that he was “stunned” when he learned that the plot of The Batman was almost an exact copy of his story The Ultimate Riddler. In the movie, Batman has been fighting crime in Gotham City for two years. He uncovers corruption as he's pursuing the serial killer The Riddler who has been targeting the city's elite.
However, US District Judge Paul Engelmayer disagreed. His 45-page decision stated that the writer intentionally and without consent used material from DC Comics to write his story. Engelmayer said that his work “liberally exploits — indeed, is rife with” characters and plot elements from Batman.
The judge wrote, “The story's use of the Batman character and the surrounding protected elements is an act of clear and blatant copyright infringement.” He added that the key similarities in the works — such as the loner serial killer who are hellbent on destroying society, villains who leave their pursuers with “clues and riddle,” as well as the villain's “clarity of epiphany” aka their raison d'etre for committing to a life of crime — were also present in other stories and not strong enough to support Wozniak's claim for a copyright.
The judge even used examples in films such as 2005's Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. It's the last movie in the prequel trilogy where Anakin Skywalker, after having given in to the Dark Side, becomes Darth Vader.
Engelmayer also said that Wozniak's claim on how Warners was able to access the story as “wholly speculative.”
Neither the studio nor DC Comics commented about the case.
Wozniak's lawsuit against Warners was in October 2022. Two months later, DC Comics, who owns Batman copyrights dating back to 1941, sued Wozniak.
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