Fear the Walking Dead: Plagiarism Case Against AMC Show Will Move Forward

CBR

By Sam Stone

Published Feb 1, 2019

A federal judge has refused a motion from AMC to dismiss a plagiarism case against Fear the Walking Dead with the suit now moving forward.

After receiving a motion from AMC to dismiss a plagiarism lawsuit against Fear the Walking Dead, a federal judge has instead decided to allow the case to proceed.

This past July, comic book creator Mel Smith had filed a suit against AMC and the producers of Fear the Walking Dead on grounds of copyright infringement, alleging that the second season of the survival horror series had plagiarized his 2008 Image Comics title, Dead Ahead with its depiction a zombie outbreak on the high seas.

U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has denied an attempt by the network to dismiss the case, with AMC claiming that the series instead drew inspiration from generic tropes within the horror subgenre while not denying it had access to Smith's previous work.

Additionally, Fear the Walking Dead executive producer David Alpert is facing a separate suit of violating fiduciary duty as Smith's former agent with Smith claiming Alpert aided and abetted in the alleged copyright violation while working with him. Similarly, Judge Koh has refused a motion by the network to dismiss this separate filing.