Quick throwback to Copyright law: while reviewing the class, specifically Preston v Lucas and Cinar v Robinson, I was reminded of headlines I saw earlier this year about a strikingly similar case.
In this case, Dave Franco and Allison Brie, along with a production company, are being sued over the horror movie “Together” by production company StudioFest, which claims that “Together” is a copy of their film “Better Half”. StudioFest registered their film with the USA Copyright Office in 2023 and allegedly sent their script to Franco and Brie’s agents to see if they would be interested in producing it, but their agents declined to participate in the film.
The similarities cited by StudioFest include the theme, as both movies focus on a couple being fused together, and more specific similarities, including the couples involving a teacher and an aspiring artist, both movies referencing Plato and allegedly a conversation about Plato’s symposium being copied nearly verbatim.
I have been wondering throughout the class how this case would be decided in Canada based on what we have learned. Based on Cinar v Robinson, this could potentially be copyright infringement if the features reproduced were a substantial part of StudioFest’s work. Given the general theme, the specifics of the couple (including their jobs and relationship dynamic), and some dialogue appear to be copied, there is evidence in support of there being infringement. However, Preston v Lucas, and the Dawn of the Dead video game example discussed in class (where the court found it is a core, inherent part of zombie stories to include people fleeing from the top of a mall in a helicopter), there is support to say the court would find that the court would find that Plato conversation in particular is needed for films relating to couples being fused and is in the general, public knowledge and not open to copyright.
Given this, I am interested to hear how you think the case would be decided in Canada and what other information you may need to come to your determination.
Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law