It looks like the producers of the modern-classic, groundbreaking zombie comedy did not run it past anyone first.

It's likely they figured the movie fell under the fair-use exemption in U.K. copyright law. Fair use is a concept that exists in many countries -- it's basically a list of reasons that copyrighted material can be used without permission. One of those uses is parody, which is what "Shaun of the Dead" certainly is.

The similarities go way beyond the title. "Shaun of the Dead" (2004) is a loving send-up of "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) and the rest of director-writer George A. Romero's zombie series (starting with 1968's "Night of the Living Dead").

One of the rules for fair use in the U.K. (where "Shaun" was made) and elsewhere is that your use can't cut in on the profits of the original. In the case of "Shaun of the Dead," that's almost certainly not a problem -- its runaway success almost certainly generated new interest in the Romero films, and in zombie movies in general (indeed, "Shaun" is credited with inventing a brand new genre -- the rom-zom-com, or romantic zombie comedy).

Maybe they didn't need anyone's blessing, but it seems that they wanted it. Director-writer Edgar Wright sent a copy of the finished product to Romero before it was released and said he was a nervous wreck waiting for the great originator's reaction. Fortunately it was good.

"I love it," Romero told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a 2004 interview. "I just thought it was so clever."

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