Beijing court accepts 'Avatar' plagiarism suit

By Jane Chen | July 9, 2010, Friday |

Online Edition

A BEIJING court has accepted a Chinese writer's plagiarism lawsuit against United States director James Cameron whom he claimed had stolen ideas for the hit sci-fi film "Avatar" from his 1997 fiction.

Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court accepted Zhou Shaomou's lawsuit yesterday. Among the four other defendants was China Film Group, today's Beijing News reported.

Zhou demanded apology for the plagiarism and retained the right to seek economic compensation.

He claimed that 80 percent of the plot and key elements of "Avatar" are similar to his 1997 science fiction novel "Tale Of The Blue Crows."

He said he spent seven years writing the book and signed a contract to publish it online.

Zhou tried to file a suit in March but the court said he had insufficient evidence. He wanted 8 percent of "Avatar's" worldwide revenue, which could amount to millions of US dollars, the report said.

This is not the first time Cameron has been accused of plagiarism - the Russian press accused him of stealing from Soviet fantasy writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's books "The World of Noon."

Nation

About Us
|
Terms of Use
|
RSS
|
Privacy Policy
|
Contact Us
|
Shanghai Call Center: 962288
|
Tip-off hotline: 52920043

沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
|
互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
|
网络视听许可证：0909346
|
广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
|
增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012

Beijing court accepts 'Avatar' plagiarism suit

Email this to your friend