According to the Copyright Act of 1976 authors may recapture the rights to their works after waiting a set amount of time and providing appropriate notice. Barker followed these requirements, but Larry Kuppin, who had purchased the company that released the film, said that he could not recapture the rights. Kuppin argued that the terms of the agreement were to be interpreted under U.K. contract law, and therefore the Copyright Act of 1976 did not apply to the situation.
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In that moment it seemed that the courts were primed to rule on the tricky subject of what happens when the rights to an IP were originally determined on foreign soil. However, the settlement reached by Barker and the production company seems to mean that no such determination will take place after all, and both parties will walk away with something. Barker will now present the judge with a proposed consent judgement that, if approved, means he will regain the U.S. rights to the film on December 19, 2021. As of yet there has been no official statement about who will be claiming the international rights.
While it is not currently clear what Clive Barker intends to do with the franchise, or why in particular he wanted to reclaim the rights, this could have significant impacts for other Hellraiser projects. A Hellraiser reboot is already in the works, as is an HBO show. If Barker does regain the rights then these projects will either need to be finished before he officially claims them, or will have to seek his approval, as will any projects produced afterward using the license.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter
