The massively successful Terrifier horror franchise is facing a legal battle that could have major implications for Art the Clown's future.
Ruthless Studios filed a lawsuit in federal court in California, accusing production companies Dark Age Cinema and Art the Clown LLC of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and improperly profiting from the Terrifier franchise without authorization.
At the center of the dispute is a series of agreements signed in 2013 between filmmaker Damien Leone and Ruthless Pictures, whose rights were later assigned to Ruthless Studios. According to the complaint, Leone transferred ownership of the original Terrifier and The 9th Circle short films, along with related copyrights, trademarks, sequel rights, and derivative works, to the company for $5,000.
The lawsuit alleges those agreements gave Ruthless ownership of "the right to produce audiovisual works of all types ... and sequels thereto and remakes thereof and all other types of derivative works based thereon," as well as "all copyrights, neighboring rights, trademarks and any and all other ownership and exploitation rights" tied to the properties.
Ruthless claims it financed and produced the 2013 anthology film All Hallows' Eve, which incorporated both Terrifier and The 9th Circle while helping turn Art the Clown into a recognizable horror icon. The company says it also secured domestic and international distribution for the film and spent years promoting the character.
"Art the Clown was 'getting big now,'" Leone allegedly wrote in a 2014 email cited in the lawsuit as the character's popularity continued to grow.
According to the complaint, Ruthless later allowed Leone to make a low-budget Terrifier film as a "one-time" exception after he allegedly acknowledged the company's ownership rights and requested permission to proceed.
The company alleges it was subsequently cut out of the franchise as Leone and his companies produced Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3, negotiated merchandising deals, and expanded the brand without notifying Ruthless or obtaining permission.
The lawsuit argues that Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 are "clearly derivative works of, and/or sequels to, the original Terrifier short film," pointing to shared themes, characters, story elements, visual style, and even the franchise's logo and title design.
Ruthless is seeking damages, an accounting of profits, injunctive relief, and a court declaration that it owns the copyrights to Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3, and all related sequels, merchandise, video games, events, and other derivative projects, excluding the 2016 Terrifier film.
