Top copyright case in the century: Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick is to be one of the hottest movies in 2022. Released in 1986, the Top Gun franchise with Tom Cruise as the rising star has encountered a somewhat obstacle in its development path. Specifically, a copyright infringement lawsuit was brought against Paramount Pictures, potential damage the return of one of the franchises after nearly 4 decades of waiting. 

The movie Top Gun in 1986 is the movie that made Tom Cruise’s name in the movie industry. 

We wouldn’t even hear of his later success with the Mission Impossible Franchise if Top Gun wasn’t released back in the 80s. 

The movie netted over $350 million at the box office. However, this number paled in comparison to its sequel as Top Gun: Maverick has gained over $550 million worldwide. 

However, would all of this money come back or will part of it use to pay the legal fee in the copyright lawsuit against the movie’s distributor – Paramount Pictures?

The copyright infringement lawsuit 

The original movie Top Gun back in 1986 was based on a 1983 article by Ehud Yonay with the same name.

Back then, the studio secured the rights to make the movie. However, with the release of Top Gun: Maverick, the widow and son of Yonay – the writer of the original article has come out and stated that they did not give permission for the sequel of the film.

According to the publicized information, the family seeks unspecified damage, however, they demand a portion of the profits from the movie which can be massive.

Furthermore, they also requested a copyright injunction to prevent further distribution of Maverick and any sequels, if made after this movie.

This idea of the lawsuit obviously originated in the 1980s with the production and distribution of the movie Top Gun. However, for the actual action, it was not until January 2018 that the family of the author stood out in public and inform Paramount that they would reclaim the copyright to the story the original film was based on after January 2020. 

This action is made after Tom Cruise confirmed the production of the sequel 8 months before. 

In May 2022, the Yonay family sent copyright cease and desist letter to Paramount. They claimed the film was “obviously derivative” of the deceased Ehud Yonay’s original article. 

Paramount Pictures has responded that the movie is not ‘obviously derivative’ and even if that is the case, the production of the movie was ‘sufficiently completed’ before the Yonay family stated that they lose rights to the work. 

In the end, as the lawsuit’s target timeline was nearly 4 decades, the final decision of the court will mostly be based on the timeline of the event. 

However, for Tom Cruise’s fans, they would rest assured that the distribution of the movie will not stop suddenly at the moment. 

Paramount, on the other hand, needs to take serious legal advice to the lawsuit to avoid being drained millions and millions of USD from the revenue and draft a plan for future movies and projects that have loopholes in IP like this one. 

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