Nikki Finke is scheduled to face off in federal court against the owners of the Hollywood Reporter at 8:30 a.m. July 9, 2013.
Finke's Deadline Hollywood sued Janice Min's publication last September, claiming copyright infringement,
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank set the July, 2013 trial date.
Also read: Suedja! Nikki Finke Sues the Hollywood Reporter — It Removes 'Stolen' Code (Updated)
In its $5 million lawsuit, Deadline accuses the Reporter of "outright theft of intellectual property, including but not limited to whole articles, content, software, source code and designs." Lawyers for Penske Media Corp., the parent company of Deadline, say the Reporter improperly used source code that belonged to Penske.
Now, Penske's lawyers say they are considering "whether to seek to add an additional claim for hot news misappropriation" against Prometheus Global Media, which owns the Hollywood Reporter.
"Hot news misappropriation" is an old, largely discredited legal doctrine that claims one publication can, essentially, copyright facts. A federal appellate court in New York rejected the doctrine in 2010.
Also read: Nikki Finke to THR: 'Get the F— Out of My Face'
On the source code matter, Prometheus says, "it's not our fault."
Prometheus "has asserted a defense that a third party was responsible, in part or in whole, for the alleged conduct," according to court documents.
The judge set a settlement conference for May 17, 2013 and a final pretrial conference for 1:30 p.m. June 24, 2013.
If the dispute goes all the way to trial, the case should take five days — unless additional claims or parties are added.
If other claims or defendants are added, the trial could take up to two weeks, according to documents.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.