Superhero fans are probably wondering what the status of the legal issues surrounding Watchmen is, what with both Warner Brothers and Fox fighting over legal rights to the film. The latest update, according to Variety is that a Los Angeles federal judge has moved the trial date to January 20, 2009.

Judge Gary Allen Feess set the trial date due to his previous commitment to a criminal matter. Feess also refused to make a pre-trial summary judgment on the case.

The suit comes about because Fox contends that it maintains distribution rights to the graphic novel written by Alan Moore under a 1994 turnaround agreement. Warner Brothers has denied the assertion, and has not backed off on the March 6, 2009 release date for Watchmen.

Watchmen hits theatres on March 6, 2009. Adapted from the comic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the movie stars Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Stephen McHattie, Carla Gugino and Matt Frewer.