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| Credit: Pixabay.com |
I saw Ready
Player One last Sunday and it was a real trip! I know, I said I
would have a review of it for you this week, but I decided to
postpone it because I felt that something else was more important.
It’s concerning the infringement lawsuit filed against the Duffer
brothers, creators of the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Filmmaker Charlie
Kessler filed a lawsuit against the Duffer brothers claiming that
they stole his idea for his short film, “The Montauk Project”, to
make Stranger Things. But the Duffers’ lawyer said the
brothers never saw Kessler’s film or talked about any projects with
him. There are some similarities between it and Stranger Things.
Stranger Things is centered around a teenage boy who goes
missing in connection with a military laboratory, the top secret
experiments performed there and strange phenomenal activity. In “The
Montauk Project”, according to the Los Angeles Times, a boy also goes missing after he approaches a closed-down
military base that a mysterious force leads him to.
However, neither
Kessler’s movie or the Duffers’ series initiated the idea for
their stories. Variety reports that the
events in both projects come from real-life claims of mysterious
activity involving a government facility in Montauk, New York. So is
Kessler trying to claim ownership on other people’s claims and
alleged experiences?
Unless the specific events in both stories are depicted similarly
using similar characters, there isn’t much of a case.
I’ll review Ready
Player One in the next post. In the mean time, do you think
Kessler will have enough evidence to sue the Duffer Brothers?
Until next time . .
.
I don't think he has a case. How can you copyright an event? The series Dark is similar to Stranger Things but I doubt the Duffer brothers will go after them for copying the idea.
ReplyDeleteThey probably wouldn't. There are a lot of knock-offs of TV shows and movies but you rarely hear of law suits over them, especially if the movie or TV series being "imitated" is already making millions. But as far as "Montauk Project" goes, as you said there's really no way to copyright a real-life event (unless that event is a concert or performed play, maybe). So events are up for grabs as far as storytelling goes.
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