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Netflix’s ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ Faces Lawsuit Over Use of “Choose Your Own Adventure”

Of all the possible outcomes to choose from, this certainly is one that Netflix would have liked to avoid.

Last week, the streaming giant’s innovative and interaction hit film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch has come under fire from a company by the name of Chooseco LLC, a Vermont-based children’s book publisher, claiming trademark infringement. The publisher has filed an official lawsuit against Netflix for the use of the phrase “Choose Your Own Adventure” in the popular Black Mirror film.

According to Deadline, Chooseco claims that they have sold over 264 million copies of their “Choose Your Own Adventure” books series. The premise of the books is that the reader can make different decisions and choices while they read through the story. Each choice that the reader makes changes the course of the story and, ultimately, the outcome. Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen Black Mirror: Bandersnatch yet, that’s the exact premise of the film.

While the usage of the idea and premise is not an issue, Chooseco says that the actual phrase, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” is, in fact, trademarked. Deadline further reports that 20th Century Fox is actually the company that holds an option to potentially develop a film based on the series of books. The lawsuit filed by Chooseco is seeking damages of at least $25 million for Netflix’s use of the phrase.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch takes place in 1984 where a young programmer begins to question reality as he adapts a sprawling fantasy novel into a video game and soon faces a mind-mangling challenge. Viewers watching the film on Netflix are prompted to pick and choose responses to certain scenarios which ultimately determine the ending of the film. As for the ending of the Chooseco lawsuit, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

What do you think about the lawsuit filed against Netflix for the film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.