Smash Pictures has agreed to pay a confidential sum to Plaintiffs to stop the copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit from going further.
- Mar 12, 2013
AceShowbiz - Fifty Shades Limited, which owns the right to E. L. James' "Fifty Shades" trilogy, and Universal Studios have reached a settlement with Smash Pictures which made a porn video of the steamy novel. The porn company, which was slapped with copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit by the Plaintiffs, has agreed to make a payment of a confidential sum to make the lawsuit go away.
Smash Pictures also consents to a permanent injunction that will prohibit the distribution of "Fifty Shades of Grey: A XXX Adaptation". This way, the lawsuit won't go further. The terms of the injunction will begin soon.
In November 2012, Universal filed a lawsuit against Smash Pictures, which made a porn version of "Fifty Shades of Grey". The studio alleged the porn company of making a "willful attempt to capitalize on the reputation of the book."
Claiming that "Fifty Shades of Grey" novel was in the "public domain" because the author originally published it online on fan fiction websites and that the story was a natural adult movie, they made a parody of the book which "will stay true to its S&M-themed romance." However, the Plaintiffs said, "The First XXX Adaptation is not a parody, and it does not comment on, criticize, or ridicule the originals. It is a rip-off, plain and simple."
Meanwhile, an official movie adaptation of E. L. James' steamy novel is in the works on Focus Features. Online hacker collective Anonymous recently stole and revealed documents from German studio Constantin Film. While there was little that was new in the leaked documents, it confirmed reports that Emma Watson had been attached to star in the "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie.
