A judge at the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles is rejecting a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Paramount Pictures over the popular Tom Cruise-led movie, “Top Gun: Maverick.”
The judge stated that the 2022 follow-up, which earned around $1.5 billion globally, was not closely enough related to a piece written by author Ehud Yonay.
The 2022 lawsuit from the family of Yonay — who wrote a magazine article in 1983 that inspired the original “Top Gun” — had sued the movie studio, claiming it did not obtain the rights to the article before releasing the second movie more than 30 years after the first one.
Paramount had acquired exclusive rights to produce the 1986 “Top Gun” film based on Yonay’s work.
The judge’s ruling stated, “The plots, sequences of events, and pacing of the Works are largely dissimilar. Any similarities are based on unprotected elements, such as general plot ideas, facts, or scènes à faire.” Before the dismissal of the lawsuit, Ehud’s widow and son, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, were seeking damages and to prevent the distribution of the film as well as future sequels..
“We are pleased that the court recognized that plaintiffs’ claims were completely without merit,” Paramount said in a statement,
Reuters reported The plaintiffs said they expect to appeal the ruling..
A federal judge is dismissing a copyright infringement lawsuit brought against Paramount Pictures involving the blockbuster Tom Cruise-starring film, “Top Gun: Maverick.” The judge in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ruled Friday that the 2022 sequel, which grossed nearly $1.5 billion at the box office worldwide, was “not substantially similar” to an article…
