‘Friday the 13th’ Screenwriter Victor Miller Wins Legal Battle, Regains Domestic Rights
Max Weinstein
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Today saw a major development in a lengthy legal battle between Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller and director Sean Cunningham.
Four years ago, a judge ruled that Miller is the sole domestic owner (U.S.) of the original Friday the 13th. But Cunningham has fought to reverse the decision.
Cunningham contends that Miller wrote the movie as a “work-for-hire”; creatives working under those terms, he argues, cannot attain rights to their material. However, at the end of their 2018 trial, Miller was granted the rights under the Copyright Act’s termination right. (This allows writers to reclaim rights to work they signed over to a company.) Following the ruling, Cunningham and Horror Inc. went to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping to change the outcome.
Also Read: Victor Miller Opens Up About Ongoing Friday the 13th Rights Lawsuit
Eriq Gardner, editor-at-large of The Hollywood Reporter, has covered this cutthroat courtroom action extensively as it’s unfolded. Today, he shared big updates on the case in a THR report and on Twitter:
Gardner explains that, “[b]arring any reversal before a fuller panel at the 2nd Circuit or Supreme Court, Victor Miller will reclaim the domestic rights to the franchise.” He also notes that it’s an important victory for Miller’s attorney Marc Toberoff, who’s now bracing for an even bigger bloodbath in a case against Disney.
In Cunningham’s view, Miller’s membership in the Writers Guild of America disqualified his claim to the rights. Miller’s WGA membership afforded him health and pension benefits, and because his work on Friday the 13th script was guided by the WGA’s 1977 master agreement, Horror Inc. argues that Miller was technically an employee, with no standing to terminate copyright. But that argument was rejected: The court concluded that Miller was an independent contractor, thereby entitling him to authorship rights.
What does this mean for Friday the 13th fans?
Well, Miller’s domestic ownership still severely limits his ability to expand upon the franchise with new installments. So, this victory doesn’t guarantee that we’ll be getting new films anytime soon.
Gardner notes that as producer, Cunningham still “retains foreign rights [and] intellectual property derived from the Friday the 13th sequels.” Since Jason Voorhees doesn’t show up in his most recognizable form until after the first film, Cunningham may also have a credible claim to the rights to hockey-masked Jason. (And let’s be honest, any Friday film getting green-lit these days will absolutely need hockey-masked Jason.)
Only time will tell as to whether Miller’s win will bring us closer to a new chapter in the series.
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