A dogfight is headed to the courtroom

Shosh and Yuval Yonay, heirs to the author of the 1983 magazine article the original Top Gun was based on, are suing Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement, according to a lawsuit filed in court yesterday.

• The family is seeking unspecified damages, including some profits from the newly-released Maverick, and to stop all screenings and distribution of the sequel, as well as any more movies in the franchise.

⏪📝 Background: The article, written by Enud Yonay and entitled “Top Guns”, centered around two fighter pilots, Yogi and Possum, as they navigated the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School. The story was optioned and made into a feature film, debuting on May 16, 1986, after studio execs made the big decision to drop the “s” in the title.

🔍 The crux… The Yonay family is taking advantage of a provision in copyright law allowing authors to seize back the rights to their works after waiting a period of time, typically 35 years.

• In the suit, the family claims they sent notice to Paramount in January 2018 saying they would reclaim the copyright in January 2020.
• Maverick originally started shooting in May 2018, but got delayed multiple times before debuting less than two weeks ago.
• The suit contends that the movie wasn’t completed until May 8, 2021, more than a year after its right to the story had expired. Paramount says the sequel was “sufficiently completed” before the expiration.

🧠🍿 In the know: Last weekend, Top Gun: Maverick dropped 29% at the box office from its Memorial Day launch, the lowest decline in history for a movie opening to $100 million or more. A decline of 50% would’ve been considered excellent, per The Hollywood Reporter.