Gable
Gable v. National Broadcasting Co.
Opinion
Opinion
Wilson, J.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
I. INTRODUCTION
Defendants NBC Universal, Inc., Gregory Garcia, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC (collectively “Defendants”) move for summary judgment against Plaintiff Mark Gable (“Gable” or “Plaintiff’). Plaintiff claims that the television show My Name is Earl (“Earl ”) was copied from Plaintiffs screenplay Karma! Defendants argue that Plaintiff cannot show that Defendants had access to Plaintiffs screenplay or that the two works are substantially similar; thus, summary judgment should be granted.
For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment.
II. FACTS
A. Background
In late 1994, Plaintiff Gable wrote Karma!, a dramatic screenplay about a dirty cop’s journey toward redemption. (Plaintiffs Statement of Genuine Issues [“PSGI”] 3-5 [Docket No. 54].) Gable registered the screenplay with the Writer’s Guild of America on March 10, 1995. (Id. 6.) On September 20, 2004, he registered Karma! with the United States Copyright Office. (Id. 7.)
In April 1995, Gable, with the help of his girlfriend Cindy Cramer, sent Karma! to four…