A federal judge said Monday that he was unable to decide whether 20th Century Fox controls rights to “Watchmen”, which is set to be released by Warner Bros. on March 9th, 2009, leaving open the possibility that the dispute between the studios could be tried on Jan. 20th, 2009.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that US District Court Judge Gary Feess has told lawyers for both Fox and Warner Bros. that a series of contracts from a decade ago between Fox and “Watchmen” producer Larry Gordon are too open to interpretation thanks to their language, and thus he cannot give a pre-trial judgment for either party, as both sides have requested.

Fox sued Warner Bros. in February of 2008, arguing that Larry Gordon, who once worked at Fox, didn’t have adaptation rights to the movie when production and filming went ahead. Warner Bros maintains their argument that Fox Studio has no copyright on the film, which is adapted by director Zack Snyder from the legendary graphic novel by renowned comic book writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons.

“Watchmen”, first released by DC Comics on their Vertigo line, from 1996 to 1997, and is about an alternate future where the US has maintained global dominance after the Cold War was won against the USSR, and the government-backed hero The Comedian is found murdered. His former costumed heroes come out of retirement and, while seeking his killer, their fractured and damaged backgrounds are delved into as a conspiracy is slowly revealed. It was widely praised as a critical and biting commentary on traditional costumed superhero comic books and is considered one of the titles that ushered in the “era” of serious comics in the 1980’s.

Stay tuned to Shockya.com for more Watchmen news.

By Costa Koutsoutis, (Source: Los Angeles Times)