NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Entertainment

didn't steal the plot for its 2022 blockbuster "The

Batman" from a writer who created a story about the caped

crusader three decades earlier, a federal judge in Manhattan

ruled on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer also said the writer

Christopher Wozniak infringed copyrights belonging to DC Comics,

which employed him as a freelance artist in 1990 when he wrote

"The Ultimate Riddle," later retitled "The Blind Man's Hat."

"We respectfully disagree with the court's decision and are

considering our next steps," Wozniak's lawyer, Terry Parker,

said in an email.

Wozniak claimed he was "stunned" to learn that "The

Batman" was a near copy of "The Ultimate Riddle," with the

Riddler terrorizing a Gotham City beset by crime and controlled

by a corrupt banking cartel.

But in a 45-page decision, Engelmayer said Wozniak

intentionally and without consent lifted material from DC

Comics' works to create his story, which "liberally exploits

--indeed, is rife with" Batman characters and plot elements.

"The story's use of the Batman character and the surrounding

protected elements is an act of clear and blatant copyright

infringement," the judge wrote.

Engelmayer also said key similarities between the works

--serial killers who are loners bent on destroying society,

villains who taunt pursuers with "clues and riddles," and

moments of "clarity or epiphany" that propel villains to crime

-- were too commonplace to support Wozniak's copyright claim.

For the latter, the judge in a footnote cited movies

including "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," where

Anakin Skywalker succumbs to the dark side of the Force and

becomes Darth Vader.

Engelmayer also rejected Wozniak's "wholly speculative"

claim for how Warner Bros might have gotten access to his story.

A lawyer for Warner Bros and DC Comics had no immediate

comment.

Wozniak sued Warner Bros in October 2022. DC Comics, which

has thousands of copyrights dating to 1941 for Batman works,

sued Wozniak two months later.

"The Batman" starred Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoe Kravitz

as Catwoman and Paul Dano as the Riddler.

It received mixed to positive reviews, and grossed more than

$772 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

The cases are Wozniak v Warner Bros Entertainment Inc and DC

Comics v Wozniak, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New

York, No. 22-08969.