Disappointing: Netflix Decides To Settle With Chooseco LLC Over 'Bandersnatch' Lawsuit

from the sigh dept

Wed, Nov 25th 2020 10:45am — Timothy Geigner

Well, it's been quite a stupid and frustrating run in the trademark lawsuit between Netflix and Chooseco LLC, the folks behind Choose Your Own Adventure books from our youth. At issue was the Black Mirror production Bandersnatch, in which the viewer takes part in an interactive film where they help decide the outcome. The main character is creating a book he refers to as a "choose your own adventure" book. Chooseco also complained that the dark nature of the film would make the public think less of CYOA books as a result. Netflix fought back hard, arguing for a dismissal on First Amendment grounds, since the film is a work of art and the limited use or reference to CYOA books was an important, though small, part of that art. The court decided that any such argument was better made at trial and allowed this madness to proceed, leading Netflix to petition for the cancellation of Chooseco's trademark entirely. This story all seemed to be speeding towards an appropriately impactful conclusion.

But reality has apparently turned us to the wrong page of the story. Netflix and Chooseco have reached a settlement, predictably short on details save for one very specific area.

On Monday, at a status conference before U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions III, the parties revealed that they had reached a settlement. While terms weren't released, the parties did tell the judge of one slightly unusual condition — the judge's February 2020 opinion denying Netflix's dismissal motion would have to be vacated. Sessions agreed to the demand. He chose to pretend he never questioned whether Netflix's film was explicitly misleading.

I'll admit that last bit has me a bit flummoxed. I haven't run into this sort of thing previously, where a case is settled and a previous order by a judge refusing dismissal of said case is vacated. I have pinged a couple of lawyers and have gotten mostly shrugs. The most I can say about it from digging around is that Netflix may not have wanted some precedent-setting ruling like this officially on the books for one reason or another.

The rest of the settlement details are not for public consumption. Without those details, it's difficult to know just who won out here, though it's notable that Chooseco appears to be keeping, and even expanding, it's trademark rights on "Choose Your Own Adventure." I could speculate that the threat to the mark was enough to get the company to mostly back off Netflix.

But that's the frustration here, honestly. Netflix raised some important First Amendment concerns in its defense, concerns that deserve a day in court. For now, at least, this one dumb lawsuit is over.

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Filed Under: 1st amendment, bandersnatch, black mirror, choose your own adventure, free speech, trademark
Companies: chooseco, netflix