The Associated Press reports (link via Yahoo! News, among several others) that Deborah Dozier Potter, daughter of “Batman” producer (and narrator) William Dozier, has sued 20th Century-Fox for $4.4 million which she claims Fox owes her father’s estate.  According to the suit, Ms. Potter holds an interest in the assets of Greenway Productions, Inc., which produced the 1966-69 “Batman” series.  Fox distributed the series and ABC aired it.  The AP story does not elaborate on the suit’s details, except to say it involves fraud, concealment, and breach of contract.

The economics of home video may end up resolving the suit. Although the 1966 Batman movie, which spun out of the series, has been released on DVD, the rights to the episodes themselves have long been tangled between Fox and DC Comics.  (The series was produced before National/DC became part of the Warner Bros. empire.)  In this June 6, 2006 chat transcript, a Warner Home Video representative stated that “Fox owns the series” and “[t]his is an issue between DC and Fox.”  As Potter’s suit indicates, Greenway, ABC, and/or their possible successors in interest, may also have some rights in the series. (I seem to remember George Barris, designer of the Batmobile, made some claims as well, but those may only be for toys, models, etc., involving the Batmobile.) 

Accordingly, assuming it wants to sell “Batman” DVDs, Fox will at least have to factor the costs of this litigation, including any award to (or settlement with) Ms. Potter, into whatever deal it may make with DC.  In the long run, though, this suit could help untangle the web of rights surrounding this series.

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