“Choose Your Own Adventure” Lawsuit Finally Settled
The lawsuit between American publishing company Chooseco, and Netflix’s Black Mirror has been settled after almost two years. Get the full details here!
Back in 2019 Chooseco sued Netflix after the 2018 Bandersnatch episode was released, which excited the world as the first interactive film which enabled viewers to choose the fate of the protagonist and ultimately decide the storyline. The film follows a game developer, who becomes obsessed with creating a successful game that follows this structure. Gamers, developers and designers will be familiar with the passionate obsessiveness that comes with creating a game. Adding great music is a huge part of that, and at Synchedin we understand this, which is why we’ve made loads of royalty free music available for your new gaming creations!
Chooseco felt that the premise of the Netflix film infringed its trademark, and a bitter legal battle ensued. In the film, the main character states that the game Bandersnatch is based on a “choose your own adventure” book series. Chooseco stated that Netflix was not licensed to use that term, and “willfully and intentionally [capitalized] on viewers’ nostalgia for the original book series”, according to the lawsuit. Netflix tried to have the case dismissed in 2019, aiming to persuade the courts that “choose your own adventure” is a fairly common phrase, however Chooseco retain control of the non-public phrase.
Finally, the lawsuit has been settled between the streaming company and publishers. However, the terms of the settlement remain undisclosed.