US Judge Rules The Batman Was Not Plagiarized

A US federal judge has ruled that The Batman was not plagiarized and did not steal its plot from another story.

Writer Christopher Wozniak sued Warner Bros. and DC Comics in 2022 as he accused that the plot of the Matt Reeves film was stolen from the 1990 Batman story that he wrote called "The Ultimate Riddle" which was later retitled as "The Blind Man’s Hat."

He claimed that he was "stunned" to learn that the film was a near copy of his story which follows the Riddler terrorizing a crime-filled Gotham City that is also controlled by a corrupt banking cartel.

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The Batman Did Not Plagiarize from Wozniak's Story, US Federal Judge Rules

Credit: Warner Bros.

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that Warner Bros. did not steal the plot of The Batman from Wozniak's story.

He also declared that Wozniak infringed copyrights belonging to DC Comics and he intentionally and without consent lifted material from DC Comics' works to create his story.

"The story's use of the Batman character and the surrounding protected elements is an act of clear and blatant copyright infringement," Engelmayer wrote.

He also explained that the key similarities between the works such as the idea of a loner serial killer who is bent to destroy society were too commonplace to support Wozniak's copyright claim.

The judge also rejected Wozniak's "wholly speculative" claim on how Warner Bros. may have gotten access to his story to become the basis of the 2022 film.

Wozniak's lawyer Terry Park shared a statement regarding the ruling: "We respectfully disagree with the court's decision and are considering our next steps."

Warner Bros. and DC Studios are now working on The Batman Part II with Reeves returning to direct, which is slated for a 2026 release. A spinoff series titled The Penguin is also slated to premiere on Max this fall.

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