Pirates of the Caribbean Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Disney Dropped

Please note: some posts may contain affiliate links which means our team could earn money if you purchase products from our site

Pirates of the Caribbean Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Disney Dropped

Pirates of the Caribbean Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Disney Dropped

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has ruled that the Walt Disney Co.’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie franchise didn’t lift copyright protectable elements from a screenplay. According to a lawsuit filed,  two writers and a producer accused Disney of copying themes, settings, plot, characters and dialogue from a screenplay they sent to Disney in 2000. But there were fundamental differences between their screenplay and the movies, and similarities were common to pirate stories or generic concepts that aren’t protected under copyright law, the court ruled in granting Disney’s motion to dismiss the complaint.

The May 13 opinion demonstrates that copyright infringement lawsuits can fail at the early stages of a case if the judge finds the two works aren’t substantially similar.


Producer Tova Laiter sent Disney a screenplay written by Arthur Lee Alfred II and Ezequiel Martinez Jr., along with some artwork and a pitch reel, in 2000, according to their 2017 complaint. Disney declined to buy the screenplay. The first movie of the five-film franchise, The Curse of the Black Pearl, debuted in 2003.

The writers and Laiter said the movies, like the screenplay, diverged from the traditional canon by portraying pirates as humorous, good men rather than terrifying brutes. They also claimed both works featured supernatural cursed, skull-faced pirates, and that actor Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow character was substantially similar to the screenplay’s Davy Jones.

But the “single purported similarity” between the widely varying plots—cursed pirates—was an idea that flows naturally from a basic plot premise and therefore unprotectable, the judge said. The dark mood driven by pirate battles and sea monsters also stemmed naturally from the pirate premise, Judge Consuelo B. Marshall said.

The court dismissed comparisons between Sparrow and Jones, stating “cockiness, bravery, and drunkenness are generic, non-distinct characteristics which are not protectable.” The screenplay’s clean-shaven, ponytail- wearing Jones, who gave up pirating to raise orphans with a love interest, departed significantly from the unshaven wild-haired Sparrow who never renounces piracy or has any comparable relationships, Marshall said.

The court also discounted alleged copying of setting, dialogue and other elements as either overstated or a bid to protect the unprotectable.

“At most, plaintiffs have demonstrated random similarities scattered throughout the parties’ works,” the court said.

The Law Office of James Tam and Maceau Law Firm represented the writers. Munger Tolles and Olson LLP represented Disney.

The case is Arthur Lee Alfred II et al. v. The Walt Disney Co. et al., C.D. Cal., No. 18-8074, 5/13/19

Source: Bloomburg


D2T-1

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Name(Required)
MM slash DD slash YYYY
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!


Written by:

785 Posts

For fun, Heather visits her favorite Disney Parks and is a WDW Annual Passholder. Heather calls the frozen tundra of Buffalo, NY her home.
View All Posts
Follow Me :

2 thoughts on “Pirates of the Caribbean Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Disney Dropped

  1. I feel like people sue for just about anything just to raise havoc. They probably figured ‘hmm, Disney’s a huge company, we can make a few easy bucks on this!’ It’s really funny though how they claimed Disney ‘stole’ the idea to use pirate battles, sea monsters, & cursed pirates, when these are all common plot elements in a pirate story. Thankfully the judge was smart enough to see that & Disney isn’t getting sued. #DisneyVacayGiveaway

  2. It’s so hard to distinguish origin sometimes. I would love to read screenplay that was given. Perhaps inspiration? Perhaps the screenwriters rode Pirates a few times and came up with the idea but had unconsciously had the screenplay in their mind? Who knows, but I am curious. #DisneyVacayGiveaway

Comments are closed.