M. Night Shyamalan was cleared of copyright in ‘servant’ trial
A federal jury ruled unanimously in favor of M. Night Shyamalan and Apple on Friday, ending a copyright trial accusing the defendants of stealing elements of an independent feature in the writing of the streaming series “Servant.”
The seven-day trial in Riverside, California, which began on January 14, saw Italian-born director Francesca Gregorini seeking as much as $81 million in damages, claiming that Shyamalan and associates stole narrative elements from her 2013 film had lifted “Truth About Emanuel,” without credit.
Gregorini’s feature followed a madness that treats a baby doll as if it were a real baby, along with a nanny who confirms that false reality. Gregorini saw important plot connections between her own film and ‘servant’.
Shyamalan testified Wednesday that he and the show’s other creators had never seen or heard of Gregorini’s film before the trial, saying the situation was “clearly 100% a misunderstanding.”
“This accusation is the exact opposite of everything I do and everything I try to represent,” he told the court. “I would never have allowed it. None of the people I work with would ever do something like that. ‘
Gregorini testified last week that she was “shocked” when she first saw the trailer for “Servant” and believed her film had been stolen from her. In addition to the plot elements, she told the jury about a series of photos and scenes in “Servant” that she thought showed Nanny fainting.
She said she was advised not to sue and has faced career retaliation for doing so. But she said she wanted to take a stand against this type of theft, which she claimed is rampant in the industry.
“I wanted to hold the defendants accountable for what they did and do my part so this never happens to anyone else in my industry again,” she said in her testimony.
Defense attorneys argued that there were many differences between the two projects. “Servant” was a supernatural thriller, they said, while “The Truth About Emanuel” was a coming-of-age drama.
While on the stand, Shyamalan was asked by his attorney about the shots and elements allegedly taken from “Emanuel.” He said there was nothing particularly original, for example, about a character fainting.
“We’ve all seen it hundreds and hundreds of times,” he said. Hitchcock has done it in ‘Rebecca,’ ‘Notorious,’ maybe ‘Saboteur.’ It’s just something that no one owns. ”
The jury showed the film and the first three episodes of the show at the beginning of the trial. They also heard from competing experts about Apple’s filmmaking and finances.
The verdict follows a five-year legal battle. The first lawsuit against Apple, Shyamalan and writer Tony Basgallop, among others, was filed in 2020, shortly after “Servant” premiered on Apple TV+. The series has since concluded its four-season run.
A federal judge initially threw out the case, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived it in 2022, finding a genuine dispute over whether the two works are “substantially similar.” After Apple’s motion for summary judgment was denied in November, the case was assigned to a judge.
