Netflix has settled a 2018 lawsuit brought by Chooseco LLC. Chooseco owns the trademark to “Choose Your Own Adventure,” They sued Netflix over their Emmy winner Black Mirror episode, “Bandersnatch,” the interactive choose your own experience. Netflix’s attempt to get the case dismissed failed in Feb. 2020 when a U.S. District Court Judge didn’t believe their First Amendment defense was appropriate.
“In Bandersnatch, a video game designer prepares to pitch something he wishes to create. This character explains to his father that the game is based on the work of a fictional book. The father says the author must be right because his son is always “flicking backward and forwards.” The son’s response: “No, it’s a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book.”
Later, when Bandersnatch was released, and audiences got the chance to take its story in different directions, commentators noted the similarity in gimmick to “Choose Your Own Adventure.”
– Excerpt from an article for The Hollywood Reporter by Eriq Gardner. Read the full article here.
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