Sheri Gilbert v. New Line Productions, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Sheri Gilbert appeals the district court’s orders dismissing and granting summary judgment to Appellees (collectively the “movie makers”), and awarding them attorney’s fees, on her claims of copyright infringement. Gilbert, the author of the screenplay When Mom’s the Other Woman (“The Other Woman ”), asserts that Appel-lees, involved in the making of the 2005 movie Monster-in-Law, unlawfully copied drafts of her screenplay in violation of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 101 , et seq. We have jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . The facts of this case are known to the parties. We need not repeat them here.

The district court properly ruled that neither the Monster-in-Law film nor any of its preliminary drafts infringes any of the second, third, or fourth drafts of The Other Woman. Even assuming that the movie makers had access to Gilbert’s drafts, there is not sufficient similarity between the protectible expression in the various works to maintain a claim. See Benay v. Warner Bros. Entm’t, Inc., 607 F.3d 620, 624-25 (9th Cir.2010). Monster-in-Law and The Other Woman both tell the story of a mother who meddles in her son’s life and tries…