Tesla, Musk likely can't escape 'Blade Runner 2049' lawsuit, judge says

Reuters02:09
UPDATE 1-<a href="https://laohu8.com/S/TSLA">Tesla</a>, Musk likely can't escape 'Blade Runner 2049' lawsuit, judge says

Adds comment from Alcon in paragraph 4

By Blake Brittain

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Tesla TSLA.O and its CEO Elon Musk have failed to persuade a California judge to dismiss a copyright lawsuit over their alleged misuse of imagery from the film "Blade Runner 2049" to promote Tesla's autonomous cybercab, according to a court filing.

U.S. District Judge George Wu said in a tentative ruling published Tuesday that movie studio Alcon Entertainment has a "seemingly valid and plausible theory" of copyright infringement against Tesla and Musk at an early stage of the case.

The ruling, if the judge formally adopts it, would mark the second time that Wu has declined to dismiss Alcon's copyright claims. The court dismissed Alcon's trademark-related claims against Tesla, Musk and Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O last year.

Spokespeople for Tesla and Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Alcon said in a statement that the ruling reflects that the studio has "raised serious copyright law issues regarding defendants' conduct that is going to require discovery to resolve if the parties are unable to reach a settlement first."

Warner distributed "Blade Runner 2049," the Alcon-produced 2017 sequel to the 1982 classic sci-fi movie "Blade Runner." Alcon said it refused a request from Warner to use images from the film for the unveiling of Tesla’s new cybercab in 2024.

Alcon sued Tesla, Musk and Warner later that year, alleging Tesla and Musk used AI-generated images that mimicked images from the film at the unveiling. Alcon accused them of infringing its copyrights and violating U.S. trademark law by falsely suggesting that it endorsed the event.

Wu said on Tuesday that he was inclined to reject Tesla and Musk's request to dismiss Alcon's copyright claims against them. The judge said Alcon's copying allegations were "sufficiently plausible" to support its case.

Wu also said it was too early to determine whether Tesla and Musk made fair use of the "Blade Runner 2049" imagery under copyright law.

The case is Alcon Entertainment LLC v. Tesla Inc, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:24-cv-09033.

For Alcon: Edward Anderson and Regina Yeh of Anderson Yeh

For Tesla, Musk and Warner Bros: Christopher Marchese, Kristen McCallion, John Goetz, Vivian Cheng and Matthew Colvin of Fish & Richardson

Read more:

'Blade Runner 2049' producer sues Tesla, Warner Bros over AI images

Tesla, Warner Bros fend off some claims in 'Blade Runner 2049' ad dispute

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)

((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713))

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