Alita: Battle Angel movie promotion. Photo: royalty free.

Florida company Epic Stone Group Inc. called out Los Angeles-based movie giant Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. in federal court in Miami on Wednesday, filing a lawsuit claiming the upcoming film “Alita: Battle Angel” rips off a trademark used since 2009.

Producer James Cameron and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez teamed up to make the sci-fi flick with a $200 million budget. Scheduled to arrive in theaters Feb. 14, the movie follows a cyborg named Alita through the post-apocalyptic world, where she finds herself with no memory or information about her past.

Plaintiff Epic Stone has been licensed to sell Battle Angel-themed computer games since 2009, and action figures and toys since 2014, according to its complaint, which alleges infringement and unfair competition. Its latest trademark application came in April 2018, covering DVDs, digital books, downloadable film and television programs.

Both parties have based their Battle Angel characters on 1990s Japanese manga or comic books by Yukito Kishiro, who is reportedly a fan of the film adaptation.

Twentieth Century Fox has also began selling movie-related merchandise.

Michael D. Stewart, of the law office Michael D. Stewart in Miami. Courtesy photo.

“It's going to get interesting,” said Miami lawyer Michael D. Stewart, who represents the plaintiff.

According to Stewart, Fox claims it acquired rights from Japan but has nothing registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — unlike Epic Stone, which has since 2009.

“Trademark rights are territorial, meaning you've got to use them in whatever country you're in,” Stewart said. “If you're using it in Japan, that's where it stays. You have to take actions to come to the United States and actually use goods or services in commerce here to get rights.” 

Twentieth Century Fox declined to comment on the case.

According to Stewart, Epic Stone offered to license out the trademark to Fox, which would then have to pay royalties. After about two years of negotiations, Fox allegedly declined.

“A big company like that is not going to pay a royalty on billions of dollars, or whatever it may be,” Stewart said. “But that's an important thing in trademark law — if you do something willfully, if you do it with knowledge that somebody else has rights to that.”

Read the full complaint:

The complaint asks for damages, profits, interest, fees and costs — an amount that remains to be seen, though Twentieth Century Fox regularly rakes in millions from its films.

Stewart said it's likely the defense will ask for the lawsuit to be transferred to California, where it's headquartered.

“I expect a whole bunch of motions,” Stewart said.

Stewart represented the same client in a similar trademark fight against Disney Enterprises Inc. over its animation film “Moana.” Epic Stone also sells Moana-themed products, and claimed its trademark “The Moana” was uncomfortably close to “Disney Moana.”

The case came before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, but ultimately settled before the movie's release in 2016.

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