Facts

In December 1982, Robert Knievel entered into an agreement with R. Gary Schreiber and Robert Schreiber, allegedly assigning the rights to certain of his stunt performances to them. A "Bill of Sale" was entered that transferred and assigned those rights. Among the rights transferred were rights to films of Knievel's performances, fine art owned by Knievel, and Knievel's autobiography. The Schreibers later filed suit against Knievel's estate to enforce this agreement, seeking a declaratory judgment establishing who had ownership rights to the performances.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The Schreibers asserted claims for breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, intentional interference with prospective contractual advantage and conspiracy.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants asserted counterclaims for a declaratory judgment in their favor, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, punitive damages, and deceptive trade practices.

Result

The court found that the contracts between Knievel and the Schriebers had been invalid, and invalidated various copyrights that had been registered pursuant to those contracts. It found that the film rights to Knievel's performances belonged to K Promotions Inc. However, it also ruled that certain art already in the Schriebers' possession rightfully belonged to them. While it found that an autobiographical outline belonged to the Schreibers, it also found that they had no right to later autobiographical or biographical materials involving Knievel.