Q: Battle Angel Alita created in Japan 1990 Epic Stone Group registered "Battle Angel" 2012, sued Fox Studios 2019, valid?
This seems odd that a pre-existing property that pre-dates this copyright registration by an American company would be at any risk for legitimate lawsuit. How can an existing intellectual property be registered to a company whom has no legal contract or agreement with said owners, and furthermore how can this company claim any legal precedent for suing the owners of the intellectual property? This seems as though someone was fishing for a potential lawsuit based on false pretenses. I've uncovered the copyright history made by the American company but have been unsuccessful in finding any actual products to back up their claim that usage of the name "Battle Angel" connects with any actual product that was ever produced by them. Thank you.
A: You ask a very interesting question, but unfortunately, it is laden with too many factual issues to provide a clear answer. Your best bet is to study copyright infringement, and when derivative works are insufficiently indistinct from the original source material. There might also be contractual obligations regarding theft or misappropriation of ideas, or even maybe trademark issues. It's just too difficult to tell based on the facts you've provided, and it also seems that this is a curiosity inquiry rather than on the question from one of the parties in the dispute.
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