20th Century Fox is in a bit of a pickle right now after Epic Stone Group, a company based in Florida, is claiming that the Battle Angel trademark belongs to them. The company says that 20th Century Fox knowingly infringed on its trademark, and as such, Epic Stone is seeking damages.
Now, if you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of months, then chances you might have no idea that Fox is working on an Alita: Battle Angel movie. We’ve seen several trailers, and from those trailers alone, it’s safe to say Fox might have a winner on its hands.
Epic Stone Group doesn’t care about that, of course. The company is more interested in forcing 20th Century Fox to deliver a share of the profits earned from using the trademark and to cease from selling any merchandise with the Battle Angel trademark attached.
The company says it was first to sell items with the Battle Angel moniker, and as such, it should have full rights to the name, no matter the circumstances. We also understand that Epic Stone filed for the trademark back in 2009, and since then they’ve sold video games and other items with the name.
We’re not lawyers, therefore, It’s difficult to tell who is in the wrong. One thing we do know is that 20th Century Fox may not want to lose out to Epic Stone at this point after many months of marketing the movie with the Alita: Battle Angel name.
As it stands, the movie is set to release on February 14, which isn’t too far off, so the timing of this lawsuit is all wrong for Fox.