Los Angeles, Nov. 14 -- Filmmaker Michael Mann is embroiled in a legal dispute with production company New Regency over the copyright ownership of the screenplay of his 1995 crime drama 'Heat', as he seeks to reclaim the rights to his original work under the Copyright Act, according to Variety.

New Regency produced "Heat," released in 1995. The company filed a lawsuit on Friday arguing that it still owns the copyright to the original screenplay.

Earlier this year, Mann's lawyers sent termination notices invoking the right to reclaim the copyright. New Regency argues that the screenplay was a "work made for hire," and is thus ineligible for copyright termination, according to Variety.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Mann said that th...