8 Ridiculous Behind-The-Scenes Struggles Over Movie Rights

7. Universal Sues Nintendo Over Donkey Kong, But Doesn't Actually Own The Rights To King Kong

Angry oversized ape captures beautiful woman and climbs to a top of a building. Millions of gamers would recognize that as the basic plot of 1981 Nintendo arcade classic Donkey Kong, but millions would also recognize that as the most famous sequence from the classic 1933 RKO Pictures movie King Kong and its two remakes. In 1982, Universal Studios recognized that connection upon Donkey Kong's massive success. When Universal began demanding that Nintendo and the makers of its Donkey Kong console ports and merchandise pay royalties, Nintendo balked and asked for proof that Universal owned King Kong. Instead, Universal took Nintendo to court, during which Nintendo's lawyers uncovered what they had suspected all along: Universal did not even own the exclusive rights to King Kong because the story (but not the films) had fallen into public domain. In fact, Universal argued exactly that when it was sued in 1975 when the studio announced its intention to produce an unauthorized sequel to the original. Now, seven years later, Universal was suing Nintendo for making essentially the same argument! The then-small video game company won the suit against the massive movie studio, and Donkey Kong has continued to be one of Nintendo's most popular characters for over thirty years. I'm sure you all know that the other character in the game, Mario, has done quite well for himself, too.