'Walking Dead' Creator In Legal Battle With Unofficial Themed Restaurant

It's about to be a night of the living debt for one unofficial Walking Dead restaurant. The Walking Dead is a themed restaurant soon to be opened in New Jersey, and the AMC zombie show's creator Robert Kirkman is not too happy about it. Kirkman has entered a legal battle with the wannabe restaurateurs over the name of the restaurant.

The owners of the restaurant have defended themselves, saying that "the walking dead" is supposed to be a descriptive term, not a direct reference to the show, and the term has been used in horror movies and fiction for a long time, according to Cinema Blend. The defendants used the 1936 Boris Karloff flick The Walking Dead as an example.

"[Kirkman] now seeks to intimidate and stop defendants from using the instant mark by initiating suit, alleging the defendants were profiting from a 'famous' name, yet the name was made famous by well-thought of authors writing about zombies, the walking dead, and the like for almost a century," the defendants' brief says.

Kirkman has retorted that the name has become synonymous with his show, and that the restaurant is indeed a direct reference to the popular series.