‘Watchmen’ judge undecided

A federal judge said Monday that he was unable to decide whether 20th Century Fox controls rights to the movie that Warner Bros. has produced and plans to release March 9, leaving open the possibility that the dispute between the studios could be tried on Jan. 20.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess told lawyers for Fox and Warners that a series of 1990s contracts between Fox and “Watchmen” producer Larry Gordon are so open to interpretation that he could not render a pre-trial judgment for either party, as the lawyers had requested.

Fox sued Warners in February, arguing that Gordon -- who once ran Fox -- assigned Warners “Watchmen” rights he didn’t possess. Warners maintains that Fox holds no copyright on the movie, which is adapted by director Zack Snyder (“300”) from the groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.