Harsh Realm - Harsh Realm Lawsuit

Harsh Realm Lawsuit

A lawsuit filed by the creators of the Harsh Realm comic book series that was licensed by Fox and Carter as the basis for the TV series became a precedent setting case. In it, Fox attorneys argued that Carter's sole "written by" credit was not only warranted, but required under the rules of the Writer's Guild of America (WGA). The judge in the case disagreed, saying "...in response to the comic book authors’ request for a preliminary injunction, Judge Martin found that “While there are substantial differences between the comic books and the television series, a trier of fact could find that it is misleading to represent Chris Carter as the creator of ‘Harsh Realm’ without giving adequate recognition to the role played in its creation.”

Fox argued – with the support of the WGA – that it could not give Hudnall and Paquette the credit they demanded, because of the WGA agreement. “The problem with this argument,” Judge Martin responded, “is that are not members of the WGA and are not bound by its contract. If the listing of the credits violates right under the Lanham Act, the fact that the violation is pursuant to a contract with a third party is no defense.”