The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Paramount Pictures’ victory in a copyright lawsuit concerning the 2022 film “Top Gun: Maverick.” The suit was initiated by the heirs of Ehud Yonay, whose 1983 article “Top Guns” inspired the original 1986 “Top Gun” movie. The plaintiffs alleged that the sequel infringed upon their copyright by failing to credit Yonay’s work.
In its decision, the appellate court determined that “Top Gun: Maverick” and Yonay’s article were not substantially similar. The panel noted that while both works depict the U.S. Navy’s fighter pilot training program, the similarities were too abstract to warrant copyright protection. The court emphasized that the sequel introduced significant new plot elements not present in the original article, such as a romantic subplot and the return of Tom Cruise’s character, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, to train a new generation of pilots. ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/top-gun-maverick-copyright-claim-against-paramount-rejected-by-us-appeals-court-4428091?utm_source=openai))
The Yonay family had previously terminated Paramount’s license to the article in 2020, asserting that the studio needed to obtain a new license for the sequel. However, the court found that the 1983 agreement did not extend to “Top Gun: Maverick,” and therefore, Paramount was not obligated to credit Yonay in the new film. ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/top-gun-maverick-copyright-claim-against-paramount-rejected-by-us-appeals-court-4428091?utm_source=openai))
This ruling reaffirms the principle that copyright protection does not extend to general themes or factual elements, but rather to the specific expression of ideas. The decision is significant for the entertainment industry, as it underscores the importance of distinguishing between protected expression and unprotected ideas or facts in copyright disputes.