(Reuters) - An artist who claims the comic-book and television series "Umbrella Academy" ripped off his idea for a fish-tank headed villain hit another dead end in his copyright lawsuit against Netflix Inc and others in Texas federal court on Wednesday.

Kevin Atkinson failed to show that "Umbrella Academy" comic creator Gerard Way had access to his comics, U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder said, dismissing the case for the second time. He gave Atkinson one more chance to argue otherwise in an amended lawsuit against Way, Netflix, and Dark Horse Comics LLC.

Netflix, Dark Horse, and the parties' lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Atkinson first sued in Texarkana, Texas last year, alleging A.J. Carmichael from "Umbrella Academy" copies the character Kingfish he created in 1996 for his Rogue Satellite Comics. Both characters are talking fish in bell jars atop human-like bodies.

The court dismissed the lawsuit in November because Atkinson had shown only a "mere possibility" that Way, Dark Horse, or Netflix had access to his work, even though the characters were similar enough to justify continuing the case.

Atkinson said in a refiled lawsuit that Way, who is best known as the lead singer of rock band My Chemical Romance, had access to his work. According to the lawsuit, Way would have learned of Atkinson's character through several avenues, including as a "hard-core" comic fan and employee at a comic-book store.

Schroeder said Wednesday that Atkinson's new allegations were still too speculative to show that Way knew of his work.

The case is Atkinson d/b/a Rogue Satellite Comics v. Netflix Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. 5:21-cv-00079.

For Atkinson: Karl Rupp of Sorey & Hoover

For Netflix: Leon Carter of Carter Arnett

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Reach him at blake.brittain@thomsonreuters.com

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.

The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.

The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.

Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.

Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.

Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.

All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.