The copyright lawsuit against Netflix is ​​currently dismissed

Lawsuit against Adam McKayhis production company and Netflix accusing them the kidnapping of a self-published novel in Don’t look up it was forbidden to move forward.

U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett dismissed the lawsuit, find that some of the claimed similarities are too “general” to constitute a claim of copyright infringement. She gave the book’s author an opportunity to amend his claims and refile the complaint, according to a ruling issued Thursday.

In 2012, William Collier self-published a dark comedy novel titled Comet Stanley. It follows a NASA scientist’s discovery of a low-level giant comet on a collision course with Earth. The government was initially skeptical that it could have an effect, but eventually planned a nuclear strike, which was canceled for political reasons. Meanwhile, the scientist becomes famous as people are divided over whether to take the threat seriously and the wealthy devise alternative survival plans.

Collier filed the lawsuit last year, claiming that his book and McKay’s film are “strikingly similar” to each other. Like his novel, Don’t look up It’s a dark comedy about a giant comet that flies by the Earth, according to the complaint, which says other works share the same mood, themes and characters.

The court rejected claims that the alleged similarity reached the level of infringement. “A comedic, ironic, or satirical mood is too general to merit copyright protection,” Garnett wrote of the mood and tone of the works.

The judge found the same for arguments that the themes of the film and the book overlap. It emphasizes that criticism of the media, government, and society is “one of the basic elements of contemporary American literature” that “cannot serve as a basis for copyright protection.”

Collier also claimed that the robots share identical plots: low-level scientists discover large comets predicted to collide with Earth; appear on talk shows to inform the public of their findings, with initial public apathy; and a chaotic climax as the comets become visible.

In this matter, the court emphasized the differences between the film and the book. in Don’t look upthe comet actually hits Earth causing an extinction level event, whereas in the novel the comet leaves the atmosphere and everyone survives. It added: “The discovery of the comet and the reaction of the public and various government figures, including impulsive behavior, apathy and fear, are situations and incidents that naturally flow from the basic premise of each work.”

Collier has 21 days to refile the amended complaint.

According to the complaint, Collier’s daughter worked at Jimmy Miller Entertainment, a unit of Mosaic Media Group, as an executive assistant to Michael Aguilar, then the company’s president of production. Aguilar reported to Jimmy Miller, who was McKay’s manager until 2015, according to the lawsuit. Miller and McKay often collaborated on projects, including production Talladega Nights, Half brothers and Land of the Lostclaimed in the lawsuit.

Collier claimed that in 2007 he sent a copy of his book to her daughter’s employer for consideration for potential development. According to the complaint, McKay, a client of Mosaic, viewed the affair through Miller.

McKay claimed he wrote the script Don’t look up in 2019, drawing inspiration from multiple sources, including conversations with David Sirota, the former journalist-turned-political consultant who wrote the film’s script.