Dungeons & Dragons isn’t the only game-based film project that may land Hasbro in court. The company is being sued by Landmark Entertainment Group over the Candy Land movie being developed by Columbia Pictures.
Landmark claims that the Candy Land characters it developed for Hasbro were only licensed for use in toys, not in any other products, such as “animated or live action films, handheld electronic games, or DVD-based video games.” Before the 1980s, only the locations on the board game were named. Characters, such as Princess Lolly and Lord Licorice, were introduced 40 years after Candy Land was first published.
According to Landmark’s complaint, the company first learned of Hasbro’s plans for a movie, set to star Adam Sandler, in 2013. It then discovered that Hasbro had also produced in the intervening years floor puzzles, animation on video cassette, a handheld electronic game, and a DVD video game. Hasbro claims that the characters, artwork, and storylines were works-for-hire.
[via Law360]