M. Night Shyamalan Cleared of Copyright Charges in ‘Servant’ Trial, Jury Rules

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On Friday, a federal jury reached a consensus in favor of M. Night Shyamalan and Apple, concluding a copyright case. The defendants were alleged to have taken key aspects from an independent film during the development of their streaming show “Servant”.

As a passionate cinephile, I found myself in a nine-day court battle, which commenced on January 14th in Riverside, California. In this legal tussle, I, Francesca Gregorini, an Italian director, was demanding up to $81 million in compensation, claiming that M. Night Shyamalan and his associates had unacknowledgedly appropriated narrative elements from my 2013 film, “The Truth About Emanuel.” My cinematic creation revolved around a mentally disturbed mother who treated a doll as if it were a real infant, with a supporting character, the nanny, reinforcing this delusional reality. I perceived striking parallels between my movie and Shyamalan’s “Servant.

Last week, Gregorini expressed her shock upon watching the trailer for “Servant,” as she felt her own film had been plagiarized. However, Shyamalan and his team involved in the creation of the series stated on Wednesday that they were unaware of Gregorini’s film prior to the legal disputes, explaining that the entire situation was simply a case of confusion.

Or:

Gregorini was taken aback when she watched the trailer for “Servant” a week ago, believing her own movie had been stolen. Contrarily, Shyamalan and his team claimed on Wednesday they hadn’t seen or heard of Gregorini’s film before the lawsuit, stating that it was clearly a mix-up.

He informed the court that this allegation goes against everything I stand for and everything I strive to embody,” he said.

At the start of the court case, the jury watched a movie and the initial three episodes of a TV series. Additionally, they listened to contrasting opinions from specialists in film production and Apple’s financial matters.

The court’s decision concludes a five-year long legal disagreement. Originally, a lawsuit involving Apple, M. Night Shyamalan, writer Tony Basgallop, and others was filed in 2020, soon after the premiere of “Servant” on Apple TV+ (the series has since ended its four-season run). Initially, the case was dismissed by a federal judge, but in 2022, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it, determining that there was a real debate regarding whether the two works were significantly similar. After Apple’s request for summary judgment in November was rejected, the jury was ordered to decide on the settlement.

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2025-01-25 05:47