‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Writer’s Cousin Loses Lawsuit Against Paramount Claiming He Wrote Key Scenes

The cousin of one of the writers of “Top Gun: Maverick” has lost his lawsuit against Paramount, in which he claimed to have written key scenes in the film.

The plaintiff, Shaun Gray, is now facing potential liability for allegedly defrauding the studio and infringing on its copyrights.

Judge Jed Rakoff on Friday threw out Gray’s copyright claim against Paramount, finding that Gray cannot copyright scenes that are based on the studio’s IP.

“Gray is a writer who indisputably based his entire script on existing material, including ‘Top Gun’ characters, settings and plot devices,” Rakoff wrote. “Gray’s copyright is therefore invalid.”

Gray, who has primarily worked as a visual effects artist, sued the studio last April, alleging that he had worked closely with his cousin, screenwriter Eric Singer, and director Joseph Kosinski, for five months and had kept meticulous files documenting his contributions to the screenplay.

He alleged that he was responsible for at least a dozen key action scenes in the movie.

Paramount countersued in September, accusing Gray of infringing on its copyrights by writing scenes based on “Top Gun,” and of fraudulently concealing his role in writing the screenplay in order to gain a financial advantage.

Rakoff previously dismissed Gray’s claim of joint authorship, but allowed the copyright infringement claim to advance to discovery. In his ruling on Friday, Rakoff disposed of the remaining copyright claim, while allowing Paramount’s claims against Gray to continue to trial.

“We are pleased with the Court’s decision to dismiss Gray’s claims and allow Paramount’s counterclaims to move forward,” a studio spokesperson said in a statement.

Singer shared writing credit on the film with Christopher McQuarrie and Ehren Kruger. Singer worked under a standard “work made for hire” agreement with Paramount, in which the studio reserved the copyright of the script. Gray, however, never signed such an agreement, and argued that the absence of such a deal entitled him to copyright his contributions.