Why Bandersnatch is giving Netflix a BIG headache
It's been a while since Black Mirror: Bandersnatch popped up on our radar, but the interactive film, which lets you, the viewer, decide whether game designer Stefan should take his medication, what cereal he should eat, and whether he should kill his dad (etc) has recently been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Netflix is being sued by a children's book publisher over the film's inclusion of the book titled Bandersnatch, which the protagonist wants to adapt into a game.
Chooseco LLC, which is based in Vermont, owns the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book series, of which it has sold more than 265 million copies since the 1980s.
Back in January 2019, the company launched a trademark infringement legal challenge against the streaming giant, claiming that Netflix was misleading people into thinking that Bandersnatch is linked to its books.
In its challenge, the company highlighted the scene where Stefan tells his dad that he's working on a game based on a choose-your-own-adventure book to illustrate the artistic similarities between the two.
"Here, the protagonist of Bandersnatch attempts to convert the fictional book 'Bandersnatch' into a video game, placing the book at the centre of the film's plot", said the ruling (via The Hollywood Reporter).
"Moreover, Netflix intended this narrative structure to comment on the mounting influence technology has in modern-day life.
"In addition, the mental imagery associated with Chooseco's mark adds to Bandersnatch's 1980s aesthetic. Thus, Netflix's use of Chooseco's mark clears the purposely-low threshold of Rogers' artistic-relevance prong."
Rogers v Grimaldi is a trademark and intellectual freedom case which is used to look at how much likeness creative properties share and whether the public has been deliberately misled.
But despite Netflix requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed under the First Amendment (freedom of expression), it was recently announced that it should be allowed to proceed.
"Chooseco has sufficiently alleged that consumers associate its mark with interactive books... The protagonist in Bandersnatch explicitly stated that the fictitious book at the centre of the film's plot was a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book.
"In addition, the book, the videogame, and the film itself all employ the same type of interactivity as Chooseco's products, [which] increases the likelihood of consumer confusion."
The publisher has also taken issue with the aesthetics of the book used in the film, claiming that the creatives behind Bandersnatch were leaning on its established book series to market the Netflix title.
"The physical characteristics and context of the use demonstrate that it is at least plausible Netflix used the term to attract public attention by associating the film with Chooseco's book series," said US District Court Judge William Sessions.
The company has claimed $25 million in damages.
Digital Spy has reached out to Netflix for comment.
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