Universal Reaches Settlement In ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Porn Adaptation Suit

The hot legal battle between Universal and a porn producer over a hardcore adaptation of Fifty Shades Of Grey has been settled in the studio’s favor. Universal, book rights holder Fifty Shades Ltd and Smash Pictures “have reached an agreement to settle this matter upon payment of a confidential sum by Smash Pictures to Plaintiffs and upon entry by the Court of a Stipulated Judgment for Permanent Injunction with respect to Plaintiffs’ claims for copyright and trademark infringement,” according to a short court notice (read it here). No actual sums were given in the settlement, reached Friday. Universal City Studios and Fifty Shades Ltd filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in late November against Smash for Fifty Shades Of Grey: A XXX Adaptation. “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,” said the plaintiffs. Universal and Focus Features picked up rights to the E.L. James-authored softcore novels in a heated bidding war in March 2012 for more than $3 million. In late January, Universal City Studios and Fifty Shades Ltd filed a request for a preliminary injunction against Smash. With last week’s settlement, a scheduled April hearing was cancelled. The plaintiffs are represented by Andrew Thomas, David Singer and Lisa Kohn at Los Angeles firm Jenner & Block. Attorney Howard Kroll represented Smash.

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