Kasowitz filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of former 3-D animator and independent creator Eric Ryder against James Cameron, his production company Lightstorm Entertainment, Inc. (“Lightstorm”), The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”), and Disney subsidiaries 20th Century Studios, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, and Disney Streaming Services, LLC, arising out of defendants' alleged unauthorized use of Mr. Ryder's intellectual property in the movieAvatar: The Way of Water.
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As alleged in the complaint, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lightstorm spent extensive time and resources working with Mr. Ryder to develop a project based on Mr. Ryder's science-fiction story titledKRZ,which is set in the distant future and involves anthropomorphic beings, an oceanic setting, and a sinister, Earth-based corporation engaging in environmentally harmful mining operations on the moon of a gas giant planet. Lightstorm ultimately cancelled the project after telling Mr. Ryder that no one would be interested in an environmentally themed science-fiction film. Cameron and Lightstorm along with distributor Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (which would subsequently become the Disney subsidiary 20th Century Studios) later released their own environmentally themed science-fiction film titled Avatar, which Ryder alleged infringed onKRZ.That dispute led to a lawsuit, and although Lightstorm and Cameron were successful in that lawsuit, they subsequently made multiple attempts to acquire Mr. Ryder's underlying intellectual property rights inKRZ. When those attempts failed, Cameron and Lightstorm proceeded to appropriate Mr. Ryder's protected expression anyway, this time blatantly incorporating it into the next film in theAvatarfranchise. The complaint includes several side-by-side charts that match Mr. Ryder's original and protected ideas to the settings, plot devices, imagery, dialogue, and story arcs inAvatar: The Way of Water, demonstrating the clear, egregious, and intentional nature of the infringement.
Mr. Ryder seeks compensatory damages in excess of $500 million, punitive damages, and injunctive relief prohibiting further exploitation of Avatar: The Way of Waterand future installments in the franchise, includingAvatar: Fire and Ash, which will be released in the United States on December 19, 2025.
Kasowitz partner Daniel A. Saunders, counsel to Mr. Ryder, stated, “The defendants' alleged misappropriation and downright theft of Mr. Ryder's protected creative work to create the third highest-grossing movie of all time is blatant and egregious, and it cries out for compensation. The complaint includes side-by-side comparisons showing how Mr. Ryder's original ideas-including those he refused to sell to Cameron and his production company Lightstorm-match up directly withThe Way of Water's plot, setting, and design elements. We look forward to proving the defendants' liability in court, as well as to seeing whether and to what extent ideas of Mr. Ryder's have continued to be incorporated into the next sequel being released later this week.”
The Kasowitz team representing Mr. Ryder includes partner Daniel A. Saunders and associate Dwayne A. Amos.
About Kasowitz LLPKasowitz LLP is a leading national law firm witha core focus on commercial litigation, complemented by exceptionally strong bankruptcy/restructuring and real estate transactional practices. Kasowitz is known for its creative, aggressive litigators and willingness to take on tough cases. The firm has extensive trial experience and is always trial-ready, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in every area of litigation.Kasowitz is committed to pursuing aggressive and innovative approaches to its clients' most challenging legal matters. Headquartered inNew York City, the firm also has offices inAtlanta, Boulder,Houston,Los Angeles,Miami,Newark,San Francisco, andWashington, DC. For more information, please visitwww.kasowitz.com.
Contact Information:Shannon O'Reilly(212) 547-1290SOReilly@kasowitz.com
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