Legal Opinion
Litchfield v. Spielberg
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided July 6, 1984No. 83-6045PublishedCited by 115 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:
The issues: (1) Did the producers of the motion picture, E. T, — The Extra Terrestrial, infringe the copyright of a musical play, Lokey from Maldemar, and (2) was summary judgment proper on the issue of substantial similarity?
Litchfield wrote and copyrighted Lokey from Maldemar. Subsequently the defendants produced E. T.
Litchfield sued for copyright infringement, unfair competition, and various state claims, alleging that E.T. was copied from her play. The district court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the copyright claim and dismissed the…
2Cases cited21 opinions
- United Mine Workers of America v. GibbsSupreme Court of the United States · 1966
- Joseph Rae v. Union Bank, a Banking CorporationCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1984
- Rebecca Reyher and Ruth Gannett v. Children's Television Workshop and Tuesday Publications, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1976
- John William See v. Christopher Durang and L.A. Stage CompanyCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1983
- Paul Smith, an Individual v. Edward L. Montoro and Film Ventures International Inc.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1981
16 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by115 opinions
- S.O.S., Inc. v. Payday, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1989
- Alveda King Beal v. Paramount Pictures CorporationCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 1994
- Lou Shaw Eastborne Productions, Inc. v. Richard Lindheim Michael Sloan Universal City Studios, Inc. Columbia Broadcasting Systems McA Television, Ltd.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1990
- King v. State Of CaliforniaCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1986
- Remo Benigni, Dba the Silver Fox v. City of Hemet Roger Miller Jesse Pease Scott JerniganCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1989
110 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.