Judge dismisses copyright claim against Top Gun: Maverick

Movieweb reports Paramount celebrated after a U.S. district court dismissed a copyright lawsuit brought by writer Shaun Gray against Top Gun: Maverick. The film grossed $1.4 billion worldwide in 2022, and Gray filed his suit in April of last year. Gray alleged he was hired by screenwriter Eric Warren Singer and director Joseph Kosinski to help crack the storyline and that he wrote notable sequences, including the opening scene where Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell breaks speed records in a prototype fighter jet; he argued that, without a work-made-for-hire agreement, he was a co-author of the screenplay.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, US District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled on January 9 that Paramount could not have sidestepped the writer's copyright because the materials Gray delivered were "themselves infringing derivative works that cannot be copyrighted." Rakoff added, "Gray is a writer who indisputably based his entire script on existing material, including Top Gun characters, settings, and plot devices.

[There is] sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that Paramount reasonably relied on Gray's alleged fraud.

Key Topics

Culture, Top Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures, Shaun Gray, Eric Warren Singer, Joseph Kosinski