Parties In Famous Monsters Litigation Reach Agreement

Ray Ferry, Connie Bean and Philip Kim have announced that they've reached a settlement agreement in the ongoing litigation over the "Famous Monsters of Filmland" trademark dispute.

A statement was issued by all three which read in part:

April 08, 2009 --
Many of you are aware that, for the past 6 months, we have been involved in legal proceedings related to ownership rights concerning the "Famous Monsters of Filmland" trademark. These proceedings stemmed from unresolved matters arising from a sale of the property rights to Mr. Kim in October 2007. After a personal meeting among us, we have fully resolved our differences and reached an amicable settlement. Ray and Connie acknowledge Phil Kim as the new owner of the trademark. His web site at www.famousmonstersoffilmland.com is to be considered the "official" internet site for the mark. Connie will retain her www.filmlandclassics.com web store and will continue as the reseller of back issue of Famous Monsters magazine published by Ray until the current inventory is depleted. Ray will continue his work as editor and publisher of his two new magazines FREAKY and SHOCK THEATER CLASSICS.

CONCERNING FM #250:
Pursuant to our agreement, FM #250 will be edited/published by Ray Ferry as originally planned. FM #250 will be the FINAL ISSUE in the SECOND SERIES of FM magazine, which began with issue #200 (May 1993). Filmland Classics customers who have current subscriptions that include FM #250 will receive their copies. Pre-orders for FM #250 are currently being accepted. The issue will ship at the end of May, 2009. Note that there will be only a limited number of copies available for general purchase once the issue is published! There will be no reprints of any more issues and once current inventory is depleted, that's it. Visit www.filmlandclassics.com (or www.famousmonstersoffilmland.com) for pre-ordering information.

It is good that the parties involved resolved the issues in the litigation. Spending time and money on attorneys and court costs is not fun. This was a smart move by all.

Philip Kim Wins 'Famous Monsters' Injunction

Above, a vintage issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland.

David Colton at the Classic Horror Film Board is reporting today that Philip Kim has won a federal injunction against Ray Ferry and Connie Bean over the Famous Monsters of Filmland trademark.

Colton reported:

In a major turning point in the seven-year legal struggle over ownership of Famous Monsters, a federal court Wednesday issued a strongly-worded injunction against Ray Ferry and Connie Bean, ordering them to end all use of the "Famous Monsters" trademark and to stop operating their websites.

Granting a request from Philip Kim, a producer who purchased the Famous Monsters trademark for $25,000 at a bankruptcy sale in 2007, Judge Gary Allen Feess of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, concluded:

"Defendants are hereby ENJOINED from operating the famousmonsters.com, famousmonsters.biz, and filmlandclassics.com websites, and from marketing, selling, or offering to sell any goods or services that contain, or are confusingly similar to, the 'Famous Monsters of Filmland' trademark, or any derivatives thereof, including 'Famous Monsters,' until the present litigation has been fully resolved.

"Defendants failure to comply with this Order may be grounds for contempt sanctions, including possible imprisonment. In addition, Defendants are cautioned that they are not to impose upon this Court any further baseless or frivolous arguments that are directly contradicted or undermined by the evidence in the record, including those that the Court has expressly rejected in this Order.''

This Famous Monsters battle has been an ongoing and sad state of affairs ever since Ferry revived Famous Monsters magazine that later led to a falling out with former Famous Monsters editor, the late Forrest J. Ackerman over tradmark issues. Ackerman won his trademark lawsuits.

Will this prevent future issues of Famous Monsters from seeing print? Right now the matter is in a state of flux. Ray Ferry and Connie Bean don't plan to roll over without a fight.

I checked the Filmland Classics message board and found no comments from either Ray Ferry or Connie Bean. However, Colton quotes Connie Bean as saying:

"Right now we have no comment until we read it. Also, I caution you all to realize that we will have our day in court. We don't have to react to anything until we are served with it, so that is what we will do. I am assuming according to what I do know, that we move ahead with Shock and Freaky and go from there."

Apparently, neither Ferry or Bean have been served with the injunction at this writing.

It appears that this litigation will ultimately lead to a final resolution of the whole Famous Monsters trademark issue. The federal court seems to think that Kim has a strong case and will prevail.

To read the CHFB forum thread, go here.