Apple, M. Nightwin ‘Servant’ copyright trial

- Advertisement -

By Blake Brittain

Apple and director M. Night Shyamalan persuaded a California federal jury late Friday to reject accusations that the Shyamalan-produced Apple TV+ series “Servant” ripped off another filmmaker’s movie.

Apple and Shyamalan convinced the jury that the makers of “Servant” could not have unlawfully copied Francesca Gregorini’s “The Truth About Emanuel” because they lacked access to it before creating the show, according to a verdict sheet made public on Monday.

- Advertisement -

Spokespeople and attorneys for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Gregorini declined to comment.

Gregorini sued Apple and Shyamalan for copyright infringement in 2020, arguing “Servant,” which ran from 2018 to 2023, was a “brazen copy” of “The Truth About Emanuel.”

“Servant” and Gregorini’s movie are both about a mother grieving the death of her baby who forms an attachment to a realistic doll. In both, a teenage nanny goes along with the mother and cares for the doll as if it were alive.

US District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles dismissed the case in 2020, finding the works’ similarities “pale in comparison” to differences in their plots, themes, dialog and other elements. Walter also ordered Gregorini to pay more than $160,000 of Apple and Shyamalan’s attorneys’ fees after determining that her claims were unreasonable.

The 9th Circuit revived the lawsuit and threw out the fee award in 2022, concluding that a jury could reasonably find “Servant” was similar enough to Gregorini’s film to support her case. — Reuters

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: