Cowboys and Aliens continues to make news. Courthouse in the News reports artist-writer Steven John Busti created a comic strip titled “Cowboys and Aliens” in 1994. Busti accuses Universal Studios, Dreamworks II Distribution Co., Platinum Studios and its chairman and CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg of copyright infringement.
“In November of 1994, a preview of the ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ story appeared on the back cover of ‘Bizarre Fantasy #0. Also, in this month, Comic Shop News, a comic-book-oriented publication distributed to comic book stores nationwide, published issue #388, which ran a feature on plaintiff’s ‘Cowboys and Aliens.’ In that same issue, on the same page that plaintiff’s feature appeared, a story appeared concerning Malibu Studios and defendant Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.
“In January of 1995, ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ was published in the issue ‘Bizarre Fantasy #1′ and was internationally distributed on March 1, 1995.”
Busti adds: “In October of 2006, defendant Platinum Studios Inc., with the personal direction of defendant Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, launched the graphic novel series ‘Cowboys & Aliens.’
“Defendants’ ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ graphic novel contains striking similarities to plaintiff’s copyrighted ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ work, including an alien spaceship zooming overhead the main cowboy character, the spacecraft being discovered by Native American warriors (specifically Apache) who are then attacked. In addition, the alien commander in defendants’ work is incredibly similar to the alien conqueror ‘Morguu’ in plaintiff’s work.”
John Busti is seeking damages and a share of the profits.
