Will AMC Sue Over 'Walking Dead' Spoilers?

The producers of The Walking Dead have placed all their bets on the hope that this spring's season-ending cliffhanger will get viewers to tune in to next season's premiere in the fall. The stakes are so high that AMC is reportedly willing to go to great lengths to protect the surprise resolution to the cliffhanger.

The website The Spoiling Dead claims that it has been contacted by AMC's lawyers, who threaten legal action if the site reveals who is killed by the villain Negan in the cliffhanging story. The site has decided to comply with the threat and not speculate about the details of the story.

Critics of AMC's action claim that the revelation of a single fact from a copyrighted work would not constitute copyright infringement as AMC's lawyers claim. The Spoiling Dead says, though, that it does not have the resources to enter into a legal battle with the network and that it will comply with the lawyers' demands even if the demands have a shaky legal basis.

Other observers point out that the Negan story line is already a well-known part of the Walking Dead comic series, and some viewers assert that the all-or-nothing reliance on the cliffhanger gimmick merely points out the recent weakness of the TV series' writing.