Publisher Sues Netflix Over “Black Mirror” Bandersnatch

It’s been billed as a groundbreaking moment in television, Bandersnatch from Black Mirror is a choose your own adventure movie, similar to the books that were famous in the 1980s.

I loved the 1980s books but in a scene reminiscent to the show itself, publishers ChooseCo is suing Netflix for $25 million, or the profits for the episode, claiming that the streaming service infringed on its trademarked format for the Black Mirror: Bandersnatch movie.

The lawsuit was filed in a Vermont federal court this week and the paperwork states that Netflix attempted to pursue a license to develop interactive content based on the books but does not actually have one. In Bandersnatch the phrase ’choose your own adventure’ is heard several times and the lead character Fionn Whitehead even states that his fictional book Bandersnatch is a ‘choose your own adventure’ book.

ChooseCo alleges that their brand has suffered “reputational harm” through the connection with the dark Black Mirror episode and is claiming damages and relief in regard to its trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of original, and dilution.

Luckily for Netflix, Alice in Wonderland is out of copyright, as the phrase Bandersnatch was originally coined by Lewis Carroll in Through the Looking Glass, and the Hunting of the Snark and while wasn’t described in great detail was understood to be a frumious creature, whatever that means!