Victor Miller may be primed to recapture the franchise inside the U.S., although a judge's opinion remains sealed with the fate of "Jason" murky.

In a big decision that will bolster the prospects of authors who hope to recapture rights from producers, Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller has prevailed in a legal battle over the franchise. Producers of the cult 1980 horror film including companies associated with Sean Cunningham filed suit more than a year ago after Miller aimed to take advantage of a provision of copyright law that allows authors to terminate a grant of rights and reclaim ownership 35 years after publishing. The producers alleged that Miller wrote Friday the 13th as a work-made-for-hire after Cunningham came up with an idea to capitalize on the success of the then-recently released horror film Halloween. They asserted that his termination notice was ineffective. "Nearly 40 years ago, a screenplay was written about Camp Crystal Lake," opens a 62-page summary judgment opinion from U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill. "The film created from the screenplay went on to significant commercial success. Lurking below that peaceful surface, however, was the Copyright Act’s termination right, waiting for just the right moment, when it would emerge and wreak havoc on the rights to the screenplay."

Miller disputed his screenplay was a work-made-for-hire, which under copyright law would mean that the producers authored the work and it wasn't eligible for termination. His attorney Marc Toberoff argued that while the screenplay was clearly commissioned as part of a motion picture, there never was any writing instrument as required by law spelling out the screenplay was a work-made-for-hire. The producers responded that not only did Cunningham conceive the idea, but he hired the team, obtained financing, controlled all creative decisions, and importantly, that Miller was a member of the Writers Guild of America, which used a standard form agreement that made clear Miller was an employee. U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill has now granted summary judgment in favor of Miller and against the producers.