A judge on Friday dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit that claimed Adam McKay stole his idea for the Netflix film, “Don’t Look Up.”
In legal paperwork obtained by TheWrap, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett wrote that William Collier’s claim that the 2021 star-studded disaster film was inspired by his self-published novel “Stanley’s Comet” was “impermissible” as it sought copyright for “generic and unprotectable ideas.”
Garnett also wrote that the plaintiff has merely concocted “a list of 15 random similarities” between his novel about a deadly comet and McKay’s film, rather than arguing for a “substantial similarity.”
The judge said that the explorations of media, government and society in both projects are “among the very staples of modern American literature” that “cannot serve as the basis for copyright protection.”
She also hand-waved Collier’s allegations that McKay borrowed the dark comedy tone, writing, “A comedic, ironic or satirical mood is far too general to merit copyright protection.”
Garnett further cited a previous legal ruling that stated “copyright law only protects expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves,” and that courts “must take care to inquire only” as to “whether the protectable elements, standing alone, are substantially similar.”
However, Collier has 21 days to amend and refile the lawsuit.
Netflix and David Sirota, who received an Oscar nomination for the story on which the screenplay is based, were also named in the lawsuit. The film, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence, was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Editing and Best Original Score.
The Hollywood Reporter was first to report this news.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this reporting.
