Legal Opinion

Aalmuhammed v. Lee

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Decided February 4, 2000No. 99-55224PublishedCited by 70 opinions

1Opinion of the Court

KLEINFELD, Circuit Judge:

This is a copyright case involving a claim of coauthorship of the movie Malcolm X. We reject the “joint work” claim but remand for further proceedings on a quantum meruit claim.

I. FACTS

In 1991, Warner Brothers contracted with Spike Lee and his production companies to make the movie Malcolm X, to.be based on the book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Lee co-wrote the screenplay, directed, and co-produced the movie, which starred Denzel Washington as Malcolm X. Washington asked Jefri Aalmuhammed to assist him in his preparation for the starring role because Aalmuhammed…

2Cases cited21 opinions

  1. Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1991
  2. Richardson v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1999
  3. Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. SaronySupreme Court of the United States · 1884
  4. S.O.S., Inc. v. Payday, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1989
  5. James W. Cleary v. News Corporation and Harpercollins Publishers, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1994

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3Cited by70 opinions

  1. Cindy Garcia v. Google, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2015
  2. Roger Miller Music, Inc., and Mary A. Miller, Plaintiffs-Appellants/cross-Appellees v. Sony/atv Publishing, Llc, Defendant-Appellee/cross-AppellantCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2007
  3. Seven Arts Filmed Entertainmen v. Content Media Corporation PlcCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2013
  4. Neil Gaiman and Marvels and Miracles, Llc, Plaintiffs-Appellees/cross-Appellants v. Todd McFarlane Defendants-Appellants/cross-AppelleesCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2004
  5. Direct Technologies, LLC v. Electronic Arts, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 2016

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