By: Alan Clarke, Esq. and Naira Castilhos, Esq.
Copyright infringement allegations can take on many distinct forms. Recent lawsuit trends involving high-profile Hollywood films highlight the evolving nature of copyright law and the protections it affords.
Arguments over what is a protected expression of an idea versus the unprotected idea itself form the key focus in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit argument in Paramount Pictures’ “Top Gun: Maverick,” as well as other pending lawsuits concerning the films “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Together.”
The foundation for copyright protection in the U.S. stems from the Copyright Act, which extends protection to “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”
Categories of protected authorship include literary works; musical works; dramatic works; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; sound recordings; and architectural works.
However, the Copyright Act makes it clear that “in no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of
operation, concept, principles, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.” Despite this, plaintiffs continue to
assert copyright infringement claims over unprotectable facts and ideas, flooding the courts with complex issues to resolve.
In order to prove a copyright infringement, a plaintiff must show ownership of a valid copyright, that the defendant had access to the copyrighted work, and that the defendant’s
work is substantially similar to the protected work. The Hollywood films “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Together” illustrate how courts analyze and apply the concept and meaning of “substantially similar” when ruling on a copyright infringement claim.