MUMBAI: Owners of the New York-based Archie Comic Publications Inc have threatened to sue the makers of the yet-to-be-released Hindi film, Boys Toh Boys Hain, if they find that the film has been lifted from any of the comic books.

Representatives of the publication will soon be in Mumbai to see the film to find out the resemblances and take a final call on whether they should be taking the legal course.

Though the makers insist that Boys Toh... is based on an original script, the film‘s cast and crew has been saying in media interviews that the story has been inspired by the famous comic characters and their funny take on life.
Legal experts feel that unauthorised promotion through visuals or verbal representations of a trademark character or its likeness amounts to copyright infringement.

In a legal notice sent to the producers of the film, the publication house has pointed out that they had read media reports about the characters in the film being inspired by Archie and his friends Jughead, Reggie, Betty, and Veronica.
Reads the notice,"It has recently been brought to the attention of our clients that you are making bold promotional statements in the media that the plot of your film is based upon and inspired by Archie Comic."

Archie Comics‘ lawyer Jyotideep Kaur said that if the film‘s protagonists have any resemblance to the characters from the comic, the makers should pay her clients licensing fees for the intellectual rights. "It is impermissible to proceed with the unauthorised use of our clients‘ intellectual and copyrighted properties," she added.

The makers of Boys Toh Boys Hain have a different view. "We never made any statements suggesting that the film is inspired from Archie Comic. One of us may have said it in a media interview that it has a similar look and feel to Archie, but never that the film is based on it," they say.