(1995) Tags: Columbia | Universal
Morris v. Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc.
In October of 1980, Plaintiffs wrote an original treatment for a film they titled “The President Elopes”, which involved a widowed President raising his young daughter and attempting to begin a new romance.
Later on in 1992, Castle Rock hired Sorkin to write a new screenplay with a similar concept called “The American President”. In May of 1995, Castle Rock instituted proceedings with the WGA to ask that Sorkin receive sole writer’s credit for “The American President.” Plaintiff protested this request, and consequently the WGA established an arbitration panel to determine whether Sorkin should receive sole credit for the screenplay to “The American President.” The Panel began the arbitration process on September 7, 1995 and, on September 29, 1995, concluded that Sorkin deserved sole credit. “The American President” was subsequently released on November 17, 1995, and Sorkin later went on to create and produce a television show about the daily workings of the White House titled “The West Wing.”
Plaintiffs allege that the production of both “The American President” and “The West Wing” infringed on Plaintiffs’ copyrighted material, namely “The President Elopes.”