Tyler Perry wins copyright infringement case against author

A U.S. district judge recently denied an author's claim of copyright infringement against Tyler Perry Studios and Lionsgate.

According to an article in Variety, Judge William H. Pauley III decided that Perry's 2012 movie, "Good Deeds," was not sufficiently similar to the 2007 book "Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruit," by author Terri Donald to merit a case.

The novel tells the story of an African-American woman who must learn to deal with her past to commit to the African-American businessman whom she loves.

In Perry's film, Wesley Deeds, the CEO of a computer software company, finds his predictable daily life changed when he meets a struggling single mother and her daughter.

Donald told the court that she sent Perry a copy of her book before production of "Good Deeds" began. Despite the general plot differences, she claimed that the movie copied a number of characters, themes, scenes and plot point from her book. According to the news source, she sought $225,000 in damages, as well as an injunction that would have required a credit to her book to be included in the movie's opening and closing credits.

In his ruling, Judge Pauley said that copyright law protects expression—not ideas. However, Perry's attorney said in a statement that more lawsuits against movies have been forthcoming in spite of this.

"If anything, I see more plaintiffs crawling out of the woodwork than 10, 20 years ago," he said. "Everyone thinks that if they have an idea and there is something else like it, it must be copyright infringement."

Given the risk entertainment companies face, they may wish to work with a Phoenix business attorney to challenge these suits.

Categorised in: Entertainment Law

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