As I stated two weeks ago, a few of us FM/Forry fans have been the target of attacks by Ray Ferry, who purports to own the FM trademark. You know about the attacks, now I'm going to give you the gusto of info. In fact, this is the "real deal" to what is currently going down with the trademark itself!
The lawsuit between Forry and Ferry, as most of us realize and understand, was never reversed, regardless what the Filmland Classics site says. Just as he was after the trial and subsequent lost appeals, RF is still under Forry's financial thumb.
Ferry DOES NOT own the trademark to Famous Monsters of Filmland and has no legal recourse whatsoever concerning the name, logo, or properties. It was taken from him by the court and put under the name of the court trustee to be held until final disposition (settlement agreement) could be decided by said court.
On October 11th, the settlement was finally approved at a hearing held in Calif court. Any day now, the court will transfer the TM back to the estate to sell off thru either direct sale to 3rd party purchasers (subject to overbids) or put up for auction that will be published and noticed to interested parties.
All sales are subject to approval of the bankruptcy court but the decision regarding which way to go in regards to the sale of the TM falls to the court trustee. This will occur shortly.
Ray Ferry, given that it's his bankruptcy sale to pay off Ack, is not allowed to purchase the TM. He can, however, find third party backers to try and purchase it and allow him to run it.
In regards to his website about FM's return, it's obvious that this is his hope, as the mag is now supposed to ship the first week of December, well after the promised date of Oct 15th.
I inquired as to how he can get away with what he's doing regarding the site, and was told that as long as the TM is owned by the court, and not a private entity, there is no one to sue him over it and stop him.
In spite of the fact he COULD find backers, as of this moment, RF doesn't have the right to put out the mag and would be in direct conflict of the court order against him from doing so.
All of this information regarding the lawsuit and TM has been substantiated by officers of the court of California with whom I am still in contact. I'm hoping to have more information about this soon, and will let you know what I find.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FORRY
I'll close my column this week with the happy news that Forry just celebrated birthday #87 this past week. Among the attendees at this party were the likes of John Landis, and more importantly, Jim Warren, who along with Forry, started the legacy that is Famous Monsters of Filmland. From what I understand, Jim is in the process of trying to reclaim the trademark. By the statutes of law, he still owns the copyright to the original Warren series FM, and could easily argue that because of this, the trademark should not have been given to Ray Ferry to begin with. We'll see where this leads, but this is getting interesting.
Till next time, take care and God bless,
Matthew
