Intellectual Property,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Jun. 5, 2025
Kozinski struggles to convince 9th Circuit in 'Top Gun: Maverick' copyright appeal
The former chief judge of the federal appeals court faced pointed questions from a skeptical panel as he argued that "Top Gun: Maverick" infringed on a 1983 magazine article credited as the basis for the original "Top Gun" film. Judges appeared unconvinced that the sequel borrowed protected elements from the article.
Former 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, returning to the circuit as an advocate in a copyright infringement lawsuit for the widow and son of the man who wrote an 1983 article on which the original 1986 hit film, "Top Gun," was based, struggled to explain why that film's 2022 sequel infringed the same article.
"Tell me why 'Top Gun' is at all relevant to this case," Senior 9th Circuit Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz asked during o...
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