Top Gun copyright issues

From Tokyo, Japan and New Plymouth, New Zealand. This is Down to Business English with your hosts Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega.

Samantha, I do not think I have looked forward to anything as much as I am looking forward to seeing the new Top Gun Maverick movie.

Top Gun Macro.

Yes, that's the one.

What a coincidence. I was just reading about Top Gun on the deadline Hollywood website.

Deadline Hollywood, what what is that?

Oh it's an entertainment industry website that I look at. Um it's a really good source for news related to the movie business.

And what did you learn about Top Gun Maverick from Deadline Hollywood? Well

Top Gun Maverick is a runaway success.

A runaway success.

Since being released on May twenty sixth, the movie has grossed over eight hundred million US dollars worldwide and has given movie theaters a new lease on life.

eight hundred million dollars. Wow.

It is now Tom Cruise's biggest movie ever.

And he has certainly had some moneymakers in the past with the Mission Impossible franchise.

Oh, that's for sure. The last Mission Impossible movie in twenty eighteen fell just short of the eight hundred million dollar mark. It earned seven hundred and ninety-one million dollars worldwide, according to deadline.

Now what did you mean earlier when you said that Top Gun has given a new lease on life to theaters?

Even though COVID is subsiding, audiences have been hesitant to go back into theaters, especially old. But with Top Gun Maverick being the sequel to the original 1986 Top Gun movie, it is getting a lot of older people out of the house and into movie seats.

Wait a second, are you saying that I am old?

Oh, we are not old. But we're not spring chickens either.

Well, I did graduate from high school in 1986, the year Top Gun came out, so I suppose I can't argue with that. Hmm. How depressing.

Well, you aren't exactly on your deathbed either.

Thank God for that. I still have some time.

You do. But if you want to see Top Gun Maverick, I suggest you go see it as soon as possible.

Oh, I plan to. ASAP.

Good, because there is a chance, a small chance, that a court in California will halt its distribution.

What?

I know. It sounds crazy. But the family of the man who wrote the original story that Top Gun was based on, has filed a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over the copyright.

You're kidding.

Nope. They are claiming that their copyright agreement with Paramount expired in 2020. And that since the movie wasn't finished until after that, Paramount does not have the legal right to release this movie.

Is this why you were reading Deadline Hollywood?

Yes, I thought this would make a good story for our report today.

I concur. This sounds like a great topic.

So let's do it. Let's get D2B down to business with the copyright issues surrounding Top Gun Maverick. A ride into the dangers of the United States.

I was not even aware that Top Gun was based on a book. I've always thought it was an original screenplay.

Actually, it wasn't a book. It was an article written by Ehud Yone that appeared in an issue of the now defunct California magazine in nineteen eighty three. The article introduced readers to the Top Gun Navy Fighter School in San Diego. It was even titled Top Gun.

And Paramount Pictures stole that idea and made a movie out of it?

Oh no, nothing like that. What they did was immediately acquire the copyright to the story. Then their screenwriters went to work adapting the magazine article into a screenplay, which eventually made it to theaters a few years later. Everything was completely above board. In fact, Ehud Yone even received a writing credit in the original movie.

So Paramount Pictures legally holds the copyright to Top Gun. I am not a lawyer, but I've always thought copyright agreements are made in perpetuity, or that they last forever.

Well, apparently there is a caveat to that. After a certain number of years, the original copyright holder of a work can reclaim their rights by issuing a termination notice.

So what you are saying is the original creator can send an official letter to the party they made the copyright agreement with and ask for their rights back.

That's right.

And how many years are we talking about?

thirty five years and after a termination notice is issued, the parties have two years to renegotiate the copyright license.

So let's see. Paramount originally secured the copyright in nineteen eighty three. So mister Yone had to issue a termination notice in in what? Twenty eighteen?

Unfortunately, Mr. Yone passed away in 2012. Oh. But his widow and his son did exactly that. They issued a termination notice in twenty eighteen, many months before Top Gun Maverick even started filming, stating that they wanted to renegotiate the license.

And those negotiations failed, obviously.

Well, that's the thing. Paramount basically ignored them, thinking that they would have two years to complete the movie and get it into theaters. It looks like they didn't worry too much about the copyright.

Seeing as how Top Gun Maverick didn't hit the theaters until late May this year, it looks like someone misjudged their production timeline.

Production on the movie was delayed twice due to COVID, and the release date was delayed even further because Tom Cruise would not agree to stream the movie on Paramount Plus. He insisted that Paramount wait until COVID had subsided, so that the movie could be released in theaters.

And why would he insist on having the movie released in theaters?

He really wanted to help cinemas by using the movie to encourage people to return to theatres. Making it available at Paramount Plus would defeat the purpose.

And by the look of the box office receipts so far, Tom Cruise was right to wait.

Sure, it seems like it was the right call as Top Gun Maverick is well on its way to raking in a billion dollars.

Say what you want about Tom Cruise, but that man knows how to stick to his convictions.

No doubt. But on the flip side, because Paramount did not respond to the Yone's termination notice, they say that legally, the rights to any movie based on the nineteen eighty three Top Gun magazine article, reverted back to them in january twenty twenty.

Two years after they filed their notice,

Two years after they filed their notice, that's right.

So they did file a lawsuit.

They did. On June sixth, they asked a court in Los Angeles to halt the distribution of Top Gun Maverick and to rule that this twenty twenty two sequel is a derivative of Ehud Yone's original nineteen eighty three magazine article, and that Paramount did not have the right to make top gun maverick in the first place. And they also want to receive monetary damages.

Of course. How much do they want? It is not fine.

Not specified at this time, but based on the success of the movie, I imagine it will be a lot.

Well, that is certainly a huge development.

They released a statement that quote These claims are without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously.

No kidding they're going to defend themselves vigorously. There is a lot of money at stake. So Mantha, do you really think a judge would order a halt to showing the movie in theaters?

I highly doubt it. But this is not a frivolous claim. The Yoneys have a legitimate legal argument.

And what about the movie studio? Do they have a counter argument?

According to a legal expert I saw on ABC News, Paramount has a few possible legal defenses. They could first argue that the original nineteen eighty six movie wasn't a derivative of the magazine article. After all, the characters and story are not similar. Second, if the first movie was a derivative, they could argue that this twenty twenty two sequel is definitely not derivative.

Hmm interesting stuff. And on top of these arguments. I would suspect that Paramount has a lot more money to spend on lawyers and legal fees than the Yones do. They, Paramount, can afford to be in court over this for a long time.

That is in Paramount's favor as well.

So what do you think, Samantha? Do the Yoneys have a chance? Well

Well, I do think they have a case. but they are never going to get the movie out of theaters. In fact, I doubt this will ever reach the inside of a courtroom.

No?

I'm fairly confident that this will be settled out of court, and the Yone family will walk away with a substantial payday from Paramount. The studio can certainly afford it. And they did make a big mistake not responding to the termination notice back in twenty eighteen.

What about their statement, the the one where they said that they will vigorously defend themselves?

We will have to wait and see. But it sounds like posturing to me.

I think you may be right.

It may take a little while, but I'm sure they will come to some type of agreement.

Well, while we wait for that, I think it is time

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Perhaps we should start out with going through the terms copyright and copyright agreement.

Good idea, since our entire report revolves around these legal concepts.

A copyright is the legal right given to the creator or owner of intellectual property to make copies and distribute that work. Basically, they have the right to copy.

And intellectual property would be something like a novel, or a poem, or a photograph, or a piece of music.

And in the case of Top Gun, it was a magazine article.

And a copyright agreement is a legal contract between the copyright holder and another party. The agreement gives the other party a license to legally use that intellectual property.

So, in our report, the Yone family had the copyright on the Top Gun magazine article, and they had a copyright agreement. agreement with Paramount Studios, which gave Paramount the right to make the original Top Gun movie in 1986.

Exactly.

Now, with that out of the way, let's talk about the noun phrase to have a new lease on life. When someone or something gets a new lease on life, they get a chance to continue living.

Just think of someone who has a bad heart. If they are lucky enough to get a heart transplant, you can say that they have a new lease on life. They can continue living.

That is a very literal example. In the introduction to today's report, Samantha commented that the release of Top Gun Maverick has given a new lease on life to movie theaters.

In other words, movie theaters which have been struggling to stay in business during the COVID pandemic are now making money from the revenue Top Gun is bringing in.

This expression can also be used to communicate that something has become popular again.

Do you know what a good example would be?

No, what's that?

Eight bushes running up that hill.

The hit from the 1980s?

Yes. I'm a huge Kate Bush fan, and I loved that song. I think it came out in 1985.

Wow, 37 years ago. I wonder how many of our listeners will actually know that song. Who Kate Bush is?

maybe more than you think because running up that hill recently got a new lease on life. When it was featured in season four of the extremely popular Netflix series Stranger Things. That 37-year-old song is now topping the music charts around the world.

Is that right? Well good for Kate. What's our next word?

Next on our list is the noun a caveat. A caveat is a warning or a clear condition you attach to an agreement that you make with someone. In this story, I reported that most copyright agreements last forever.

Or in perpetuity.

Yes, they are in perpetuity. But they also come with the caveat that the original copyright holder can reclaim their rights by issuing a termination notice after 35 years.

In other words, the copyright agreement comes with a very specific condition. A caveat is a very useful business word. Listen to this conversation between a manager and her subordinate about an upcoming project.

Skip, can I have a word with you?

Here Samantha, what's up?

How would you like to lead the new product development team?

Wow, that sounds like a very exciting opportunity, but what would all be involved with that?

You would be overseeing the application of several new technologies that have come out of our RD centers in Canada and India.

So there would be a lot of online meetings I would imagine.

At least once a week. It would mean very early mornings or late evenings for you.

Hmm. Well, like I said, it does sound like an exciting opportunity. But honestly, I'm a little reluctant to make a commitment that That involves late evenings or early mornings. I you know, I already have a long commute into the office.

I can appreciate that.

Tell you what, I will accept this position with the caveat that I can attend those online meetings from home, that I don't need to physically be in the office for them.

I don't see a problem with that.

Great, count me in.

Nice example. Skip, you were such a good negotiator.

I do my best.

Do we have another word on our list?

We do. Our next. And actually our final term today is the noun derivative and its verb form to derive. The noun derivative, in the context of copyright law, refers to any work that is copied or based on an earlier work. In the report, Samantha explained how Paramount will argue that their Top Gun movie is not a derivative of the Top Gun magazine article. In other words, they will argue that the movie does not copy the article.

You will always hear this word in copyright disputes or patent fights. One company claiming that their competitor's product is a derivative of theirs.

An example of that would be Apple suing Samsung over their Galaxy smartphone. Apple claimed the Galaxy was a derivative of the iPhone.

It is very hard to decide when something is a copy or an original idea. It's very hard to draw that line.

That is why so many corporate lawyers have jobs.

I suppose so. It keeps a lot of people busy.

Now, the verb form of derivative is to derive. When you say a was derived from B, you are communicating that B was the original source, or an inspiration for A.

So if I said something like, Skip derived his negotiating skills from years of experience, I'm saying that Skip's negotiating skills come from his years of experience.

That example is correct, but I I don't know why you're going on about my negotiation skills.

Aw, don't fret. It's just an example.

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Thank you, Samantha, for all that information about the copyright issues surrounding Top Gun Maverick.

No problem, Skip.

It will be hard not to think about this when I see the movie.

When do you think you will go?

I'm not sure. I'd like to go as soon as possible before it is out of the theaters, but I've just got so much work to do this month.

Oh, give yourself a break, Skip. Take a night off and catch a movie.

Will do that. I'll take your advice and take a night off with the caveat that I release this episode first.

Hmm, that seems reasonable.

Thanks for listening everyone. See you next time.

Have a comment or question about today's show? Don't be shy. Visit the D2B website or Facebook page and post any comments or questions there. Skip, Des or Samantha will be sure to leave a reply.

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