Robert Kirkman In Battle Over The Walking Dead Name With Restaurant

The Walking Dead's writer and creator Robert Kirkman does not take kindly to others trying to use his hit series' name without permission. A New Jersey restaurant is learning all about it right now as Kirkman is battling restaurant owners trying to make a New Jersey eatery by the name of Walking Dead.

The suit was originally filed a couple of months ago but Philip Theodorou, Steven Theodorou, Anna Theodorou, and Mohamed Elkady are now firing back at the writer.

In response to the lawsuit and summary judgment motion, the Theodorou's and Elkady are arguing that Kirkman and AMC, which airs the adaptation of Kirkman's comics, are limited in their rights to the play on the words. They even go on to state that Kirkman was once going to call his comic Night of the Living Dead after the 1968 George Romero film.

"[Kirkman] now seeks to intimidate and stop defendants from using the instant mark by initiating suit, alleging the defendants were profiting from a 'famous' name, yet the name was made famous by well-thought of authors writing about zombies, the walking dead, and the like for almost a century," says the defendants' brief. "Plaintiff never took into consideration the fact that what happened to Mr. Romero, could very easily happen to him."

The defendants go on to claim that "the walking dead" is a loose term rather than the trademark which Kirkman claims it to be. "Kirkman's The Walking Dead Mark is not descriptive," the brief states. "The Walking Dead Mark is suggestive, as it requires consumer imagination, thought, or perception to determine that it refers to zombies."

(via THR)