(CNS) - The copyrights holder of Creepy magazine, a horror-comics magazine that lived for decades on newsstands, is suing the owner/publisher of The Creeps magazine in Los Angeles for alleged trademark infringement, according to court papers obtained today.
The suit, filed in federal court on Tuesday by New Comic Company LLC, alleges that Richard J. Sala's The Creeps is a “knock-off'' version of now-defunct Creepy magazine, which was launched in 1964 by legendary horror magazine publisher James Warren and published by Warren Publishing Company.
According to the lawsuit, Sala's use of the word Creeps as his mag's name, and by calling his company Warrant Publishing Company, he is “intentionally seeking to take advantage of the popularity and goodwill of Creepy magazine, its prior publisher (Warren), and Creepy's devoted fan base.''
In a statement posted on the Facebook fan group he oversees – Warren Publishing Fans and Friends -- Sala said he cannot comment on pending litigation but that “our attorneys are dealing with this case.''
New Comic Company acquired the rights to Creepy and its sister publication Eerie from Warren in 2007 and published archival hardcover anthologies of the original magazines.
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