Burroughs Co. Sues Comic Book Publisher that Apes Tarzan

Image via WikipediaIn Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. v. Dynamic Forces Entertainment, Inc. et al., filed this week in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the family-owned business that holds the copyrights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' literary icons, Tarzan and John Carter, has sued a comic book publisher and entertainment company for publishing unauthorized works based on the characters.

Defendants Dynamic Forces Entertainment and Dynamite Entertainment have yet to respond to the 33-page complaint that includes 10 counts, ranging from claims of trademark infringement [15 U.S.C. sec. 1114(1)] and unfair competition [15 U.S.C. sec. 1125(a)] to copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices. As reported by the Law Blog of The Wall Street Journal (http://blogs.wsj.com/law/), the suit initiated by ERB, Inc., a company created by the author in 1923, 27 years before his death, that is owned principally by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, alleges the defendants' Lord of the Jungle and Warlord of Mars comic book series infringe on Burroughs' Tarzan the Ape Man and John Carter of Mars. ERB is based in Tarzana, California (no, seriously).

Dynamite Entertainment, which was founded in 2005, publishes licensed franchise comic book series adaptations based on famous literary figures, including Sherlock Holmes, Dracula and Zorro. Time will tell whether the defendant this time slipped on a banana peel by purportedly "aping" the lovable vine-swinging lug who has appeared in books, comics, television series and nearly 90 films.

"Me process server, You sued."