A federal judge in Los Angeles has handed Paramount Pictures a win in a copyright lawsuit brought by family of a writer whose magazine article inspired the 1986 Tom Cruise movie “Top Gun,” according to court papers obtained Monday.
Ehud Yonay — whose 1983 piece about the Top Gun school at Miramar Naval Air Station for California magazine inspired the original blockbuster starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis — died in 2012.
His family filed suit in June 2022 in downtown Los Angeles, alleging copyright infringement over that year’s “Top Gun: Maverick” sequel. In the complaint, the author’s widow, Shosh Yonay, and son, Yuval Yonay, allege they filed notice six years ago with the studio reclaiming the copyright to the article, but Paramount did not obtain a new license to use the material.
In a written ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson granted summary judgment to the studio and dismissed the case, finding that elements from the film, such as plot, theme, setting and dialogue, are “largely dissimilar” from Ehud Yonay’s article. The court also determined that any overlapping factual similarities aren’t protected by copyright law.
The plaintiffs will appeal, their lawyer Marc Toberoff said.
The suit sought monetary damages and an injunction barring Paramount from distributing the film or any further sequels.
With Cruise at the helm, “Top Gun: Maverick” grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, becoming Cruise’s biggest film, and is the 12th highest-grossing film ever, according to Box Office Mojo.