The Yonays, heirs to the author of a 1983 article which the original movie is based on, claim the studio distributed the sequel without obtaining a new license to use the underlying material.
- Jun 7, 2022
AceShowbiz - While currently enjoying the box office success of "Top Gun: Maverick", Paramount Pictures is hit with a lawsuit over the movie. The studio is sued for copyright infringement by the family of the author whose article inspired the 1986 movie starring Tom Cruise.
Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, heirs to author Ehud Yonay, filed the complaint in Los Angeles federal court on Monday, June 6. They claimed that Paramount failed to reacquire the rights to the 1983 article in a California magazine before releasing the sequel, which they call "derivative."
The Yonays, who are based in Israel, claim Paramount's rights to the article ended in 2020, while filming for the movie was not completed until May 8, 2021. They accuse the studio of "thumbing its nose at the statute" that allows the termination of rights after 35 years. They seek unspecified damages, including profits from "Top Gun: Maverick", and to block distribution of the movie or further sequels.
Paramount, however, has reportedly claimed that the film was "sufficiently completed" before its rights to the original article were terminated.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, the widow and son of author Ehud Yonay sent a cease-and-desist letter to Paramount on May 11, weeks before the release of the sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "This case arises out of Paramount's conscious failure to re-acquire the requisite film and ancillary rights to the Yonays' copyrighted Story prior to the completion and release of their derivative 2022 Sequel," attorney Marc Toberoff and former federal appellate judge Alex Kozinski, who are representing the Yonays, wrote.
Responding to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Paramount says in a statement, "These claims are without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously1983 article in a California magazine."
The long-awaited sequel to 1986's "Top Gun" has already made big bucks, grossing $295.6 million in North America and $261.6 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to $557.2 million so far.
