© 1995 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

New Regency is taking legal action against Michael Mann to reclaim its rights over “Heat“, prior to the anticipated blockbuster sequel to the 1995 crime drama classic.

In a lawsuit submitted on Friday to the California federal court, New Regency contends that Mann is unable to leverage a copyright law provision that permits creators to reclaim ownership of their works after a specified time. It aims to obtain a court order defining its continued rights over the screenplay for “Heat“.

“The Screenplay is not subject to termination,” the complaint states.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mann said the director is “confident that the courts will vindicate Michael Mann’s statutory rights under the Copyright Act.”

“This filing has to do with original and personal writing Michael Mann did on multiple screenplays during the 1980s and which evolved into the iconic 1995 film Heat that Mann wrote, produced and directed,” the spokesperson added. “After 40 years, Michael Mann is exercising the right of authors to reclaim their work and, in this case, Michael Mann’s original creation.”

The submission arrives before Mann gets ready to shoot “Heat 2“, a follow-up starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro. In Friday’s lawsuit, New Regency argues that Mann’s bids to terminate New Regency’s copyright for Heat are invalid because the director penned the screenplay as a work made for hire.

Earlier this year, Mann issued three notices to New Regency regarding the copyright to the Heat screenplay and underlying materials, sparking a dispute over rights ownership with the company, according to the complaint. According to the first notice, the copyright grants for Heat were to be terminated, including a 1988 oral agreement between Mann and two companies he controlled. The director was later reported to have told New Regency that the assignment had never been formally documented and that he had only recently come to know about the arrangement.

The assignment of the copyright is significant because Mann is arguing that he wrote Heat-related materials as an independent author rather than as an employee. The distinction could swing the case since copyrights for works made for hire are generally not eligible to be terminated since the employer, rather than the individual writer, is legally considered the author. The distinction could swing the case since copyrights for works made for hire are generally not eligible for termination since the employer, rather than the individual writer, is legally considered the author

“The Termination Notices cloud Regency’s title to the screenplay and impair its ability to develop, finance, and license works derived from it,” states the complaint. “In addition, certain provisions of the agreements that Mann and Regency each entered into with Amazon with respect to “Heat 2“ depend on the outcome of this litigation.”

Read Mann’s full statement below: This filing has to do with original and personal writing Michael Mann did on multiple screenplays during the 1980s and which evolved into the iconic 1995 film Heat that Mann wrote, produced and directed. After 40 years Michael Mann is exercising the right of authors to reclaim their work and in this case Michael Mann’s original creation.
We will vigorously defend this action and are confident that the courts will vindicate Michael Mann’s statutory rights under the Copyright Act.

For clarification, this is unrelated to production of “Heat 2” which will begin shooting on Jan. 19.