Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a 2018 interactive film based around viewer choice, has been in a legal battle with Chooseco LLC since late 2019 over the use of the term “choose your own adventure”. The term is technically owned by Chooseco, and used as the title for their series of interactive novels; this lawsuit, and others like it, have sprung from the use of the term to describe a whole genre, and in this case the issue was with a specific line of dialog in the film that contained the phrase “choose your own adventure”.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this case has now ended in a settlement, the exact terms of which have not been released. In February, Netflix attempted to have the case dismissed, which a judge refused. The streaming giant then attempted to have the trademark vacated; with the case now settled, this has not happened.
Chooseco LLC was demanding $25 million in damages, but it’s unknown whether this is the figure Netflix ultimately had to pay.
One of the conditions of the settlement, interestingly, was that the judge’s decision to deny dismissal had to be vacated for both parties to reach an agreement, which Judge William Sessions III agreed to.
It seems that Chooseco LLC has maintained the rights to the phrase “choose your own adventure,” and remains within its rights to sue over its usage.
Bandersnatch was a big success for Netflix, and even won the 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie.