LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1(Xinhuanet)-- A Hollywood film company sued Sony Pictures Entertainment Monday, alleging Sony is wrongly claiming to have exclusive rights to the"Zorro" character.

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Sobini Films is developing a futuristic film featuring the black-masked swordsman.

The project is currently titled"Zorro 2110" and budgeted at 37 million US dollars, the court papers state.

The suit claims Sobini Films has acquired the rights to a 1919 book in which the black-masked Zorro character debuted, and that Sony and its Tri-Star Pictures unit-- which produced and distributed the 1998 film"The Mask of Zorro"-- do not have exclusive rights to the character.

Two years ago, Sony Pictures sent Sobini Films a letter telling it to cease working on its Zorro-related feature, the suit states.

A Sony Pictures spokesman declined to comment on the suit, which seeks a finding that Sobini has the right to produce a Zorro film.

The complaint also asks a judge to find that a depiction of Zorro wearing a mask, cape and flat Cordoba hat, and wielding a sword, is a"non-protectable depiction of the Zorro character."

Since 1919, the Zorro character has been featured in numerous films and television shows, including a 1920 silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks and a television show in the late 1950s. Enditem