Appeals court dismisses copyright lawsuit against ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

A federal appeals court recently filed a copyright lawsuit regarding Tom Cruise’s 2022 blockbuster sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.” The case claims that the film inappropriately utilized elements from a magazine article that inspired the original 1986 movie.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California found that “Top Gun: Maverick” does not closely resemble a 1983 story by Ehud Yonai, titled “Top Guns,” which discussed the U.S. Naval Fighter Weapons School. The court concluded that Paramount Pictures violated a contract with the author from 1983.

This case had previously been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson of the Central District of California in 2024.

In 1983, California Magazine published Yonai’s 11-page article, detailing the Fighter Weapons School (now known as the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program), a Navy initiative for advanced air combat tactics.

After the article’s publication, Yonai transferred all rights to Paramount for a set payment, insisting that he be credited in any film that was “substantially based on or adapted” from his work. Paramount did credit Yonai in the first film, but after his death in 2012, his widow and son assumed copyright and terminated the contract with the studio.

Fast forward two years to 2022, and Paramount released “Top Gun: Maverick,” which brought in over $160 million during its opening weekend.

The Yonais filed a lawsuit against Paramount after the release of the sequel, alleging that the studio failed to provide compensation or acknowledgment. However, the court determined that “Top Guns” and “Top Gun: Maverick” were not “substantially similar” enough to establish copyright infringement.

While acknowledging certain similarities between both films, the court noted these were largely based on factual elements related to the Top Gun program, along with general plot themes and common scenes.