Paramount Files Dismissal For TOP GUN: MAVERICK Copyright Infringement Suit
By Movieguide® Contributor
Paramount lawyers are hitting back at copyright infringement claims over summer blockbuster TOP GUN: MAVERICK.
Movieguide® previously reported on the lawsuit:
TOP GUN: MAVERICK is dominating the box office, but the movie may not have clear skies ahead.
The family of author Ehud Yonay, who wrote the article on which the original TOP GUN was based, is suing Paramount Pictures.
The writer’s family accuses the studio of copyright infringement, claiming that family took back ownership of the rights to the article in January 2020. Their lawsuit alleges that Paramount did not finish making TOP GUN: MAVERICK until May 2021, which would infringe on the Yonay family’s copyright.
However, Paramount argued that they finished production by the termination date of January 24, 2020, and that the sequel was not based on Yonay’s article, making the lawsuit a moot point.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount recently filed to dismiss the suit, arguing that the article was a piece of nonfiction and shares no similarity to the fictional story told in TOP GUN: MAVERICK.
“When the Court reviews the article and Maverick, as opposed to Plaintiffs’ irrelevant and misleading purported comparison of the works, it is clear as a matter of law that MAVERICK does not borrow any of the article’s protected expression,” studio attorney Molly Lens wrote in her motion to dismiss.
“To the contrary, any similarity between these vastly different works derives from the fact that TOP GUN is an actual naval training facility. Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about TOP GUN,” the motion continued.
A hearing for the lawsuit and the dismissal motion is set to take place September 26.
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