Clint Eastwood Sued for Copyright Infringement in Connection to 2012 Movie ‘Trouble With the Curve’

Recently, Ryan A. Brookes filed a 120-page copyright infringement complaint alleging that Clint Eastwood’s production company and Warner Brothers stole his idea in making the movie ‘Trouble With the Curve,’ a film that ultimately flopped and grossed just under $50 million worldwide.  Brookes, a movie producer, filed the complaint in federal court on Tuesday October 1, alleging that he and Gold Glove Production, Brookes’ company, were denied proper credit for the movie’s screenplay.

Brookes also named others in the suit, including the Gersh Agency and United Talent Agency, along with other people who worked on the film.  The lawsuit said according to the LA Times that “This case is about a conspiracy to steal the body, structure, theme and soul of a unique, original, copyrighted screenplay from a production company and its owner.”  Brookes also claims in the lawsuit that the script rewritten by a screenwriter Gold Glove hired in 2008 was passed off as writer Randy Brown’s work in ‘Trouble With the Curve.’

News articles do not say the exact amount Brookes filed suit for, only that the lawsuit asks for “tens of millions of dollars” in relief.  On October 3, Warner Brothers called the lawsuit “reckless,” and called on Brookes’ lawyer to drop the case.  Warner Brothers said that the allegations are false.

Warner claims that Brown’s script was optioned in 1998 by the Bubble Factory, while Fox challenged that notion.  Fox also claimed that if Brown had optioned the script when Warner Brothers claimed, there was no evidence of it being registered with the Writers Guild of America or Copyright Office that year.

The above indicates how complex cases involving copyright infringement can be.  It is not unusual for one individual or company to claim an idea or written work was stolen, while the other party denies it – particularly in the entertainment industry.

Anyone who feels his or her copyrighted works have been stolen should consult with a highly qualified and experienced Los Angeles business attorney at once for the legal guidance and support necessary to reach the desired outcome.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 18th, 2013 at 4:37 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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