According to The Hollywood Reporter, both companies are taking SFX studio Alterian Ghost Factory to court over threats of copyright infringement. With this lawsuit, Paramount and Spyglass are expected to file a court order to stop Alterian’s lawsuit, which claims the company “intentionally deprived the company of its alleged rights in the iconic ‘Ghostface’ mask used in the Scream franchise for 30 years.”
The Ghostface mask was developed by Fun World in the early 90s for Halloween and later invented scream Producer Marian Maddalena. It was later licensed to film and featured throughout the franchise and its various sequels, excluding the MTV show. Alterian argues that since it first created the underlying design, Fun World was legally in the wrong when it licensed the final version to Paramount. Conversely, Paramount believes that Fun World deserves Alterian’s resentment and that Alterian has lost any rights to call ownership of Ghostface after spending decades without taking any legal action.
“[It] Paramount’s complaint states, “It has never been legally established that it owned the rights to the Ghostface mask, and now it will not be able to prove that in this lawsuit.” And trying to disrupt its release mere weeks before the release of a full motion picture — the seventh installment of a franchise that Alterian had watched quietly grow for three decades — is an outrageous attempt to shake it down. [Paramount and Spyglass]”
scream 7 is in theaters February 27th, and the legal battle for Ghostface may continue beyond that date.
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