T.V. shows such as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones are known for leaving their fans with massive cliffhangers, causing people to come together in an attempt solve the riddle, however, a question is beginning to arise among content owners and copyright attorneys across the country: Are these internet sleuths committing copyright infringement?

Leading up to season six finale of The Walking Dead, fans of the show were wondering which beloved character would meet their end at the hands of the villainous Negan. Right as this question was about to be answered, the episode ended, meaning fans would have to wait until late October, when season seven of the show premieres, to have this question answered. However, for some of the more impatient fans, waiting was not an option, so these groups took to the internet in hopes of learning who would become Negan’s victim. One group, The Spoiling Dead Fans, even announced that they had discovered the identity of Negan’s victim and would be revealing it online. Following this announcement, AMC, the owners of The Walking Dead show, swiftly responded by sending The Spoiling Dead Fans a cease-and-desist letter, threatening legal action against the group on the grounds of copyright infringement if they were to reveal the identity of the victim.

Much of the reason for AMC’s strong response to groups like The Spoiling Dead Fans is because their entire marketing campaign for season seven of the show centers around the question of which character will no longer be around to fight zombies in the seventh season. AMC argues that spoiling the reveal before the premiere of the show would diminish the value of their copyrighted work. As intellectual property attorney, Anthony Verna noted, this is one of the primary purposes of copyright law, “Copyright law is all about protecting the ability [to make] an income from artwork. We have a work that takes a lot of people and a lot of resources that generate a lot of money.”

Like The Walking Dead, many television shows have large online communities who dedicate their time to solving a show’s mysteries before the episode premieres. AMC’s move to issue a cease-and-desist letter has many fans asking at what point do their discussions go from mere fan theories to copyright infringement?

For more information on this topic, please visit our Copyright Protection service page, which is part of ourSoftware & Copyrightspractice.

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