Ted Berkic v. Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, Marvin Moss, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/united Artists Entertainment Company

The plaintiff appeals the district court’s judgment disposing by various means of his copyright and Lanham Act claims, We affirm.

I.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

In 1968, the plaintiff wrote a 54 page screen treatment that he called Reincarnation, Inc. Hoping to interest a studio in producing a film based on his work, he gave the screen treatment to a literary agent, defendant Marvin Moss, and asked for his help. Moss read Reincarnation and suggested that the plaintiff collaborate with defendant Michael Crichton on a “shared-credit” basis. The plaintiff declined the offer.

In 1978, defendant MGM/UA Entertainment Co. released the movie Coma, written and directed by Crichton, and based on a novel by the same title written by defendant Robin Cook. The novel is still in print and the movie has been and continues to be shown on cable television and is available on videocassettes and videodiscs. The plaintiff alleges that both the movie and the book Coma were largely “adapted, derived, or copied” from his screen treatment Reincarnation.

In December 1980, the plaintiff brought suit in California state court alleging plagiarism, breach of implied-in-fact contract, and several other…