Tribune Sues Warren Beatty over Rights to "Dick Tracy"

Tribune Media Services filed a lawsuit against actor-director Warren Beatty in an attempt to regain the TV and film rights to the legendary comic strip, Dick Tracy, according to Reuters.

The suit, filed in Delaware on March 19, alleges that Beatty "wrongly claims" to have full executive motion picture and television rights to the character and the strip, according to court documents. Beatty purchased the rights in 1985 and directed the 1990 film of the same name, which starred Dustin Hoffman, Madonna and Al Pacino and went on to win three Academy Awards.

The controversy originated in 2006. The suit claims that Beatty has made "no productive use" of his rights for over a decade, meaning they should revert back to the Tribune, according to the BBC.

Beatty countered in November 2007, saying that he had begun developmental work on a Dick Tracy television special and thus could maintain his rights to the strip. However, Tribune Media Services claims that Beatty has not provided sufficient evidence of this development. According to the AP, Tribune values the rights at tens of millions of dollars.