James Cameron Fails To Terminate Copyright Infringement Action Against "Terminator II"

Case: Kourtis v. Cameron, Case No. 03-56703 (9th Cir. August 15, 2005)

The One-Sentence Summary: Plaintiffs were not collaterally estopped from bringing the identical copyright infringement claim as a prior action because they were not in privity with the prior plaintiff.

Ninth Circuit Holdings:

• Plaintiffs were copyright holders and screenplay owners of a prospective film entitled The Minotaur which featured a half-man, half-bull that transforms into various forms. Filmmaker James Cameron expressed interest in the film, but ultimately neither he nor anyone else agreed to produce it.
• After the 1991 release of Terminator II, featuring a character that transforms into both human and nonhuman forms, the screenwriter of the The Minotaur filed a copyright action against Cameron and others. The court in that action held that the The Minotaur and Terminator II were not substantially similar. Subsequently, the instant plaintiffs filed suit against the screenwriter and obtained a judgment that they, not the screenwriter, own The Minotaur materials.
• Although the copyright infringement claim in the instant action was identical to that in the prior action, the instant plaintiffs were not in privity with the screenwriter, especially given their conflict of interest. Therefore, the plaintiffs' copyright claim was not collaterally estopped.
• The fact that the instant plaintiffs were aware of the prior action and failed to intervene did not affect the collateral estoppel analysis.
• Although the initial 1991 release of Terminator II fell outside the 3-year statute of limitations, the allegations of continuing infringement, including the DVD release of the film, were sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss.