Netflix Inc. was accused by an Indian filmmaker of copying his 2009 film for its fashionable Squid Sport collection as the corporate prepares to launch the second season of the present later this yr.
The filmmaker, Soham Shah, sued Netflix in federal court docket in New York on Friday, alleging that the present is a “blatant rip-off” of his Hindi-language movie Luck, which tells the story of a “group of desperate, indebted people enticed to take part in a series of competitive games to win large sums of money” who later study that dropping the contests means loss of life.
“The main plot, characters, themes, mood, setting and sequence of events of Squid Game are strikingly similar to that of Luck, defying any likelihood that such similarities could be coincidence,” Shah stated within the go well with.
Squid Sport made historical past in 2022 as the primary foreign-language drama to win high honors on the Emmy Awards. The collection was Netflix’s greatest launch ever, costing $21 million to supply, and viewers watched 1.65 billion hours of the present in simply 4 weeks. It remained one of many service’s high exhibits for months and Netflix introduced in July that the second season shall be launched on Dec. 26, with a 3rd and last season coming in 2025.
A Netflix spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to an e mail and name searching for touch upon the go well with.
It’s not the primary time Netflix has confronted copyright claims over a few of its hottest content material. In August 2023, the Los Gatos, California-based firm settled a copyright infringement lawsuit introduced by a author who claimed key components of his earlier screenplay known as Totem have been used with out his permission in Stranger Issues.
Shah says that Netflix continues to infringe his copyrights for Luck with works derived from Squid Sport, together with a actuality TV competitors and an immersive expertise set to launch in New York Metropolis subsequent month. He says the present elevated Netflix’s market worth by greater than $900 million.
Shah is searching for unspecified damages and an injunction stopping Netflix from infringing his copyrights by advertising and streaming Squid Sport, benefiting from the sale of merchandise and creating different exhibits and works that will infringe the copyrights sooner or later.
The case is Shah v Netflix Inc., 24-cv-6925, US District Courtroom, Southern District of New York.
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