Paramount Beats ‘Top Gun’ Copyright Suit from Writer’s Heirs

Paramount Pictures Corp.'s “Top Gun: Maverick” film didn’t infringe the copyright of the article that inspired the original “Top Gun” movie because the works aren’t substantially similar, a California federal court said.

Two heirs of writer Ehud Yonay failed to establish similarities beyond unprotectable facts, general ideas, and stock scenes between the 1983 magazine article and 2022 film starring Tom Cruise, the US District Court for the Central District of California said. The sequel featured plot, settings, characters, and themes that diverged far from anything found in the article, the court said as it granted Paramount’s motion for summary judgment. ...