Judge Thomas Griesa
Effie Film LLC, a company formed to produce a film based on a screenplay, "Effie," written by Emma Thompson based on the infamous, unhappy marriage of Effie Gray and Victorian-era art critic John Ruskin, brought a declaratory judgment action against Murphy, the author of "The Countess," a screenplay, as well as a play for the stage, based on the same historical events. Murphy made repeated claims, both to Effie Film and in the media, that the "Effie" screenplay infringes on his copyright in "The Countess." The court granted Effie Film’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, determining that "Effie" and "The Countess" are not substantially similar. The court found that the two works have no dialogue in common as well as no characters in common that are not historical figures, and although they contain the same settings, the two screenplays give the historical episodes vastly differing levels of attention. The court noted that the result, therefore, is two works narrating the same basic events but with greatly differing internal structures. As a result, the court held that since the shooting script of "Effie" is not substantially similar to either the stage or screen version of "The Countess," it does not infringe Murphy’s copyrights in "The Countess."
