Though the expiration of the copyright to the 1932 novelization of the original King Kong led to the character partially entering the public domain, Universal maintained that it fully owned the character for years and took often unsuccessful legal action in order to protect it. The rights to King Kong transferred to Cooper's son Richard, who sold them to Universal. A federal judge found that RKO did not own King Kong, only the 1933 film and its sequel, and that King Kong was rightfully owned by the estate of his original creator, the late Merian C.
Universal sued RKO for ownership of the film rights to Kong. Universal planned to produce its own remake of the original King Kong in the 1970s entitled The Legend of King Kong, but instead RKO chose to sell the film rights to Dino De Laurentiis, who produced his own remake in 1976. Godzilla internationally outside of Asia. In 1962, Universal acquired the American copyright to King Kong from RKO Pictures, and distributed Toho's King Kong vs. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour as Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Universal was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O.
Universal jointly owns and operates United International Pictures with Paramount, which distributes both studios' films outside of the United States and Canada. It is currently a subsidiary of the media conglomerate NBCUniversal, itself a subsidiary of the telecommunications conglomerate Comcast Corporation. Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Paramount Pictures. The oldest active film studio in the country, it is also considered one of Hollywood's "Big Five," along with Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros. Universal City Studios LLC, also known simply as Universal Pictures, is an American film production and distribution company headquartered in Universal City, California. Universal-International Pictures, Inc.Universal Pictures Corporation (1923-1936).Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1912-1923).Universal City, California, United States