(2014)
Dutcher v. Bold Films
In 1999, Plaintiff wrote the screenplay for the movie Falling. Plaintiff’s movie was filmed in 2007, at which time he registered a copyright with the United States Copyright Office. Plaintiff screened the movie in limited theaters in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, and he distributed a small number of DVDs. Plaintiff also planned to release the film on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2015, as well as adapt Falling for a mass-market release.
In 2014, Defendants released the movie Nightcrawler in theaters and subsequently distributed the movie for home viewing. Plaintiff contends that Nightcrawler contains striking similarities with Falling, and that Nightcrawler either copies directly or is substantially similar to the protected elements of Falling. Thus, Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit against Defendants for copyright infringement.