Sam
Raimi’s Renaissance Pictures has won a default judgment in a trademark
infringement lawsuit filed in California federal court against an unauthorized sequel to The Evil
Dead, called Evil Dead 4: Consequences.
The Evil Dead is a horror film franchise started by Sam Raimi. The original movie was produced in 1981, which led to the release of The Evil Dead II in 1987 and Army of Darkness in 1992.
The successful series spun off Evil Dead-related stories in other formats such as video games and comic books. An authorized remake of the original film is reportedly in the works and will be released around Halloween 2013.
Independent
film studio Award Pictures had been in production of Evil Dead 4:
Consequences, when Raimi filed a trademark infringement lawsuit, alleging that the unauthorized sequel was likely to cause consumer confusion.
However,
Award Pictures’ president Glenn MacCrae failed to respond to the Complaint,
leading to the entry of a default judgment in Raimi's favor.
The default judgment includes a permanent injunction stopping Award Pictures from using Renaissance’s “Evil Dead”
trademark for their film or using any marketing that is likely to confuse the public into
believing the film is an authorized sequel.
MacCrae told The Hollywood Reporter that he was unable to pay for a lawyer to respond in
court due to Raimi’s interference allegedly “destroying” a financing deal with
Anchor Bay Entertainment.
According
to MacCrae, attorneys were demanding “tens of thousands of dollars” to take on
the case.
However,
MacCrae has now reportedly hired a lawyer and claims that he is "very
definitely contesting Renaissance’s lawsuit."
