AMC Fails to Kill Copyright Suit Over Fear the Walking Dead (1)

A comic book author’s copyright suit against the makers of the TV zombie series Fear the Walking Dead can shamble on.

AMC Networks Inc. couldn’t convince a federal court to toss Melvin William Smith’s suit alleging the Walking Dead prequel rips off various aspects of his comic Dead Ahead.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled Jan. 31 that it’s too early in the case to fully analyze similarities between the works, or to evaluate AMC’s argument that Smith sought to protect generic plot elements. The court also allowed breach of fiduciary duty claims to ...