'Road House': Amazon, MGM, United Artists counter-sue in copyright clash
The ongoing copyright dispute over the 1986 film Road House and its 2024 remake has taken a fresh twist. R. Lance Hill, the original scriptwriter under the pseudonym David Lee Henry, filed a lawsuit in February accusing Amazon Studios, MGM Studios, and United Artists of "blatant copyright infringement." In response to this accusation, the studios filed a counterclaim on May 3 in federal court.
Studios argued 'work made for hire' rule in counterclaim
The studio's counterclaim argues that Hill's complaint overlooks a key principle of copyright law. They stated, "Plaintiff's Complaint ignores the well-established rule of copyright law that the author of a work made for hire is not the individual who created the work." The first Road House film—released in 1989 and starring Patrick Swayze—was a hit for both Swayze and United Artists. Its 2024 remake gained significant attention with over 50M viewers on Amazon Prime Video during its initial two weekends.
'Lady Amos—not Hill—the author under US Copyright Law': Studios
Further, the studios contended that Hill "personally acknowledged, represented, warranted—and indeed, contractually guaranteed—that the screenplay was created as a work made for hire for his own company, Lady Amos Literary Works, Ltd. ('Lady Amos')." They argue that this makes "Lady Amos—not Hill—the author under US Copyright Law." The studios stated, "Hill cannot rewrite this history now, nearly four decades after the fact. His attempt to terminate that grant is invalid and his copyright infringement claim is doomed to fail."
Hill accused of fraudulent copyright registration, too
Further, the studios accused Hill and his lawyer Marc Toberoff of providing false information to the Copyright Office about Hill's authorship and ownership of the screenplay. They allege: "Plaintiff's copyright registration to the 1986 screenplay was secured through fraudulent statements to the Copyright Office concerning Plaintiff's purported authorship and ownership and, therefore, is invalid." They essentially claim that Hill "intentionally" lied to government officials. Toberoff has refuted these allegations as baseless distractions.
Counterclaimants aim to recover legal expenses, compensatory damages
Now, the counterclaimants are seeking a court ruling asserting that Hill lacks copyright ownership of the original Road House script. Additionally, they request the Copyright Office to invalidate his registration of the 1986 screenplay dated January 24, 2024. The studios aim to recover legal expenses and compensatory damages from Hill and his company, Lady Amos. To note, the Road House remake, directed by Doug Liman and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, premiered on March 21.
