The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld a verdict that cleared Apple of allegations that its thriller series Servant was copied from an independent film.
The series, created by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint, follows a Philadelphia couple mourning an unspeakable tragedy. Shortly after it premiered, Italian-born director Francesca Gregorini sued Apple and Shyamalan, claiming the show stole its plot from her 2013 film "The Truth About Emanuel." She sought as much as $81 million in damages.
The lawsuit dragged on until January last year, when a jury unanimously ruled in favor of Apple and Shyamalan. Jurors found that the show's creators had not had access to Gregorini's film before developing the series. Gregorini appealed, arguing that jurors needed more detailed instructions on what constitutes "widespread dissemination" and that the trial judge should have answered a jury question before accepting the verdict.
The Ninth Circuit rejected both arguments. The appeals court found that the jury instructions accurately reflected the applicable law and that the judge did not abuse her discretion. The decision leaves the jury's verdict in Apple's favor intact.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing