The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court's summary judgment in favor of Paramount Pictures Corporation in a copyright infringement lawsuit over the blockbuster film 'Top Gun: Maverick.' The decision, filed Jan. 2, 2026, rejected claims by Shosh and Yuval Yonay that the 2022 sequel violated their copyright in a 1983 magazine article.
The plaintiffs are the heirs of journalist Ehud Yonay, who wrote 'Top Guns,' a 1983 magazine article about the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, commonly known as 'Top Gun.' The original article served as source material for the 1986 film 'Top Gun' starring Tom Cruise.
In their lawsuit, the Yonays alleged that Paramount's 2022 sequel 'Top Gun: Maverick' infringed their copyright in the original article. The case centered on whether the sequel shared substantial amounts of original expression from the 1983 piece, which would constitute copyright infringement under federal law.
The three-judge panel, consisting of Circuit Judges Andrew D. Hurwitz, Eric D. Miller, and Jennifer Sung, unanimously upheld the Central District of California's grant of summary judgment for Paramount. Judge Miller authored the opinion for the court.
The Ninth Circuit concluded that 'Maverick' did not share substantial amounts of the original expression contained in Yonay's 'Top Guns' article. This finding was crucial because establishing substantial similarity between copyrighted work and alleged infringing material is a required element to prove copyright infringement.
'The panel affirmed the district court's conclusion that Maverick did not share substantial amounts of the original expression of Top Guns, and plaintiffs therefore failed to establish a triable issue as to substantial similarity,' the court wrote in its summary.
The appeals court specifically found a lack of similarity in the protectable elements of the magazine article. Additionally, the panel determined that the plaintiffs failed to establish that their work contained an original and protectable selection and arrangement of elements that was copied in the sequel.
This distinction is important in copyright law, as not all elements of a work receive protection. Facts, ideas, and common expressions typically cannot be copyrighted, while original creative expression can be. The court's analysis focused on whether the specific creative elements that were protectable under copyright law were substantially similar between the works.
The case also involved a dispute over expert testimony. The Ninth Circuit held that U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson did not abuse his discretion in excluding the plaintiffs' expert witness while allowing Paramount's expert to testify. Courts have broad discretion in determining the admissibility of expert testimony, and appellate courts rarely overturn such decisions unless there is clear error.
The opinion indicates that the district court also granted summary judgment for Paramount on claims that the studio breached its 1983 agreement, though the full details of this aspect of the ruling were not included in the available portion of the decision.
'Top Gun: Maverick' was released in 2022 as a sequel to the original 1986 'Top Gun' film. The sequel became one of the highest-grossing films of 2022 and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The case highlights the ongoing challenges in copyright law when it comes to sequels and adaptations based on previously published works. Studios must navigate complex questions about what elements from source materials are protected by copyright and what constitutes fair use or non-infringing expression.
The Ninth Circuit's decision represents a significant victory for Paramount Pictures and could provide guidance for future disputes involving sequels that draw from the same source material as earlier films. The ruling reinforces that copyright protection extends only to original expression, not to underlying facts or ideas.
The case was argued and submitted on June 3, 2025, in Pasadena, California, before being decided on Jan. 2, 2026. The original lawsuit was filed in 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California under case number 2:22-cv-03846-PA-GJS.
For the Yonay heirs, the decision represents the end of their legal challenge to one of Hollywood's most successful recent sequels. The family had sought to protect what they viewed as their father's original creative work that helped inspire the Top Gun franchise.
The ruling provides studios with greater certainty when developing sequels that may draw from the same source materials as previous films, as long as they avoid copying substantial amounts of original protectable expression from those sources.