Scholastic settles ‘Goosebumps’ suit

Scholastic Corp., the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter books, agreed to pay $9.65 million for the rights to the “Goosebumps” series, ending years of litigation with author R.L. Stine and Parachute Press Inc.

Scholastic’s 1999 lawsuit claimed that “Goosebumps” owner Parachute was using ghostwriters on some books. Parachute in turn accused Scholastic of not making payments and selling some books without permission.

The agreement gives Scholastic the “Goosebumps” trademark and the right to publish the books and develop the series into TV shows, computer games or other media, the companies said in a joint statement.