Hreljanovic Wins Copyright Trial Over Just Before Dawn — SkimNews
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- Vlado Hreljanovic prevailed on Oct. 20 when a six-person jury found that David DeFalco infringed his copyright in “Just Before Dawn,” awarding $46,000 in statutory damages—below the $150,000 maximum; Hreljanovic said he planned a 4K restoration next year.
- Eric Lee said Hreljanovic’s team proved a 45-year chain of title with documents and argued that the document assigning rights from Bill Olsen to DeFalco was forged.
- Bill Olsen licensed “Just Before Dawn” through Code Red DVD in 2012 under a six-year deal that Hreljanovic allowed to lapse in 2018.
- AMC Networks, Shudder’s owner, settled with Hreljanovic out of court alongside Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Walmart, leaving DeFalco as the sole defendant to reach trial.
- David DeFalco spent about $200,000 on his defense, represented himself at trial, relied heavily on AI to draft briefs and won a favorable pretrial ruling.
- David DeFalco said the “Just Before Dawn” deal reaped $10,000 and that old B-movies had little individual market value, requiring distributors to release many titles; he called the suit a defense of physical media against “copyright trolls.”
- David DeFalco said he was preparing a new-trial motion, had no plans to pay the $46,000 award and was getting rid of Dark Force Entertainment and leaving physical media.
Why it matters: DeFalco says the $200,000 defense cost, $46,000 award and his decision to shut Dark Force turned a license that earned $10,000 into a business-ending dispute. Hreljanovic’s victory leaves him with the rights and a planned 4K restoration after four years in court.
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