By: Russ Burlingame on September 25, 2012
In a surprise announcement made through The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore announced that they had come to terms on a settlement of their dueling lawsuits over the rights and revenues from The Walking Dead.
Moore filed suit against Kirkman back in February, alleging that he had never been properly compensated under the terms of their previous copyright settlement, and that Kirkman had never produced documents that would allow Moore to know exactly what he was due.
Kirkman countersued, alleging that he had in fact overpaid Moore and that his ex-collaborator had additionally violated the confidentiality agreement of that settlement by going public with details. That cone of silence has apparently been reinstated following today’s events, though.
“Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore are pleased to jointly announce that they have reached an amicable agreement in their respective lawsuits and all parties have settled the entire matter to everyone’s mutual satisfaction,” read the statement made available to THR. “Neither side will be discussing any details but will instead happily and productively spend their time focused on their own work and move on in their lives.”
According to the lawsuit filed by Moore, he was owed 60% of the comics revenue and 20% of the TV/movie revenue generated by The Walking Dead and Brit, but had received very little money and that Kirkman and Skybound “have not issued a single statement or allowed access to their books and records in accordance with the reporting obligations of the agreement.” Kirkman responded that the suit was “totally frivolous. Mr. Moore is owed no money at all.”
Moore had claimed that the pair were originally intended to be named as co-creators of The Walking Dead, a position that was backed up by Image Comics’s original solicitation for the series’s first issue. By the time the comic was published, though, Kirkman was listed as the sole creator in the masthead and he has been so credited ever since.
