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Tesla, Warner Bros. dodge some claims in ‘Blade Runner 2049’ lawsuit, copyright battle continues
Tesla and Warner Bros. scored a partial legal victory as a federal judge dismissed several claims in a lawsuit filed by Alcon Entertainment, a production company behind the 2017 sci-fi movie Blade Runner 2049, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit accused the two companies of using imagery from the film to promote Tesla’s autonomous Cybercab vehicle at an event (1) hosted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Studios in Hollywood in October of last year.
U.S. District Judge George Wu indicated he was inclined to dismiss Alcon’s allegations that Tesla and Warner Bros. violated trademark law, according to Reuters (2). Specifically, the judge said Musk only referenced the original Blade Runner movie at the event, and noted that Tesla and Alcon are not competitors.
“Tesla and Musk are looking to sell cars,” Reuters quoted Wu as saying. “Plaintiff is plainly not in that line of business.”
Wu also dismissed most of Alcon’s claims against Warner Bros., the distributor of the Blade Runner franchise.
However, the judge allowed Alcon to continue its copyright infringement claims against Tesla for its alleged use of AI-generated images mimicking scenes from Blade Runner 2049 without permission.
Alcan says that just hours before the Cybercab event, it had turned down (3) a request from Tesla and WBD to use “an icononic still image” from the movie.
In the lawsuit (4), Alcon explained its decision by saying that “any prudent brand considering any Tesla partnership has to take Musk’s massively amplified, highly politicized, capricious and arbitrary behavior, which sometimes veers into hate speech, into account.”
Alcon further said it did not want Blade Runner 2049 “to be affiliated with Musk, Tesla, or any Musk company, for all of these reasons.”
But according to Alcon, Tesla went ahead with feeding images from Blade Runner 2049 into an AI image generator to yield a still image that appeared on screen for 10 seconds during the Cybercab event. With the image featured in the background, Musk directly referenced Blade Runner.
Alcon also said that Musk’s reference to Blade Runner 2049 was not a coincidence as the movie features a “strikingly designed, artificially intelligent, fully autonomous car.”
YouTube could soon make more money than Disney, Wall Street analyst says
Coyote vs. ACME is finally coming to theaters as it dodges its own death
Ketchup Entertainment struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to release Coyote vs. ACME in theaters, effectively saving it from becoming lost media.
The studio confirmed it purchased the distribution rights to the film from the embattled entertainment company Monday for $50 million, according to Deadline. Warner Bros. Discovery entered talks with Ketchup Entertainment nearly two weeks ago to sell Coyote vs. ACME for that price point after no other studio would buy it for the previous price of $75 million. Now, Ketchup Entertainment saved it from its tomb and will be releasing it in theaters in 2026.
“We’re thrilled to have made a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures to bring this film to audiences worldwide,” said Gareth West, CEO of Ketchup Entertainment. “Coyote vs. Acme is a perfect blend of nostalgia and modern storytelling, capturing the essence of the beloved Looney Tunes characters while introducing them to a new generation. We believe it will resonate with both longtime fans and newcomers alike.”
Ketchup Entertainment’s rescue of Coyote vs. ACME comes nearly three weeks after it released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, grossing over $10.5 million at the box. It was the first full-length 2D-animated Looney Tunes film to be released in theaters in the history of the franchise with a budget of $15 million.
Warner Bros. Discovery shelved Coyote vs. ACME in 2023 for a $30 million tax write-off despite production being 100% completed, prompting a strong backlash from the producers, animators and actors involved with the film as well as social media campaigns from Looney Tunes fans around the world. The company also shelved Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt — all of which finished production by the time they got cancelled. Those films were also being shopped around after deciding not to release them in theaters or on streaming, but with no luck.
Mag 7, Carmakers, Warner Bros. Discovery, U.S. Bancorp, Chinese banks: Stocks to watch today
Stocks fell in premarket trading on Monday, after the the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump has pushed his team to be more aggressive on tariffs in recent days. Futures tied to the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed toward a lower open.
