Indian filmmaker accuses Netflix Inc. of copying his 2009 film for its popularity Game “Squid” series as the company prepares to release the show's second season later this year.
Filmmaker Soham Shah filed a lawsuit against Netflix in a New York federal court on Friday, claiming the show is a “blatant copy” of his Hindi film. Luckwhich tells the story of “a group of desperate, debt-ridden individuals who are lured into taking part in a series of competitive games to win large sums of money” who later learn that losing the competition means death.
“The main plot, characters, themes, mood, setting and sequence of events Game “Squid” are strikingly similar to those Luck“This completely disproves any possibility that such similarities could be a coincidence,” Shah said in the lawsuit.
Game “Squid” made history in 2022 as the first foreign-language drama to sweep the top honors at the Emmy Awards. The series became Netflix's biggest launch ever, costing $21 million to produce and consuming 1.65 billion hours of the show in just four weeks. It remained one of the service's top shows for months, and in July, Netflix announced that a second season would debut on December 26, with a third and final season set to arrive in 2025.
A Netflix representative did not immediately respond to an email and call seeking comment on the lawsuit.
This isn't the first time Netflix has faced copyright claims over some of its most popular content. In August 2023, the Los Gatos, California-based company settled a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a writer who claimed rights to key elements of his earlier script, titled Totem were used without his permission in Very strange things.
Shah claims Netflix continues to infringe his copyright Luck with works obtained from Game “Squid”including a reality competition and immersive experience set to launch in New York next month. He says the show has increased Netflix's market value by more than $900 million.
Shah is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction preventing Netflix from infringing his copyrights through marketing and streaming. Game “Squid”profiting from the sale of merchandise and developing other shows and works that may infringe copyright in the future.
The case is Shah v. Netflix Inc., 24-cv-6925, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.
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