It's a dogfight - Top Gun: Maverick copyright lawsuit

The cousin of Top Gun Maverick screenwriter, Eric Singer, has filed a lawsuit in a New York Federal Court claiming that he wrote several “key scenes” for the film and seeking to be formally recognised as a co-author of the screenplay. 

The Plaintiff, Shaun Gray, is also seeking a share of the film's profits - the blockbuster grossed over $1.49billion worldwide and net profits are estimated to be around $391 million so if successful, this claim could be worth a significant amount of money. 

For fans of the movie like myself, some of the “key scenes” in question include (lawsuit as filed, page 7):

• Maverick pushing the Darkstar past Mach 10;
• Maverick out-maneuvering the Top Gun graduates during training; exercises and engaging in a dogfight with Rooster, contrary to protocols;
• Maverick proves that the mission is achievable by flying the simulation successfully;
• Maverick and Rooster steal an old F-14 to escape enemy territory

The lawsuit states that Gray has maintained “meticulous, time-stamped files and emails that document and track his writing of these key scenes and his significant contributions to the film and its screenplay”. 

It is alleged that his contributions were not under a “work made for hire” agreement. An agreement of this type provides that the commissioning party / employer owns the copyright in an eligible work created by a commissioned party / employee (similar to Section 11 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act in the UK). Gray therefore claims that, as there was no agreement in place, he should be declared a joint author of the screenplay and enjoy joint copyright ownership in the same. 

If the claim for joint authorship/ownership is unsuccessful, Gray has filed a second claim for copyright infringement in respect of the scenes that he states he wrote. It is claimed that there was no assignment or license in respect of his rights to the scenes, and he is therefore entitled to damages.

This is the second copyright lawsuit in respect of the Maverick movie; the first was dismissed last year. A Paramount Pictures spokesperson said:

“This lawsuit, like the one previously brought…in an attempt to benefit off of the success of Top Gun: Maverick, is completely without merit. We are confident that a court will reject this claim as well.”

The suit states that Gray “actively participated in story meetings” with Singer as well as director Joseph Kosinski over five months.

www.independent.co.uk/...