Disney sued over copyright infringement claims

Disney Studio’s cartoon hit, Zootopia, is a subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit according to reports circulating on the internet. Screenwriter and producer, Gary L. Goldman, who brought the lawsuit against Disney, contends that the Oscar-winning animated movie, released last year, is strikingly similar to one he unsuccessfully pitched to the studio at two different occasions, first in 2000 and again in 2009.

Goldman’s past credit as a screenwriter include both versions of “Total Recall”, 1986’s “Big Trouble in Little China”, the 1990 movie “Navy Seals” and the 2007 sci-fi thriller “Next”.

The lawsuit alleges that the themes, settings, plots, characters, dialogues – some virtually verbatim are substantially similar to Goldman’s work, that even the movie title, Zootopia, was the same as that of Goldman.

A statement released by Disney totally rejects the claims contained in the lawsuit. It states that “Mr. Goldman’s lawsuit is riddled with patently false allegations. It is an unprincipled attempt to lay claim to a successful film he didn’t create, and we will vigorously defend against it in court.”

The movie in question was both critically acclaimed and well received by movie goers and gained over $1b in box office sales worldwide. It won several awards including an Academic award for the best animated movie at this year’s Oscar.