On June 22, the Ninth Circuit reinstated a copyright infringement suit against Fox Searchlight Pictures, the producers and director of the 2018 Academy Award winning best picture motion picture “The Shape of Water.”  The plaintiff’s attorney successfully argued that the testimony showed similarity between a play written by the plaintiff and the motion picture and that the District Court erroneously dismissed the action under Rule 12 (b)(6).

The plaintiff was represented by the court’s former judge, Alex Kozinski, who retired in December 2017 after allegations by numerous law clerks of improper sexual behavior and harassment. He had been on the court since 1985 and its chief judge from 2007 to 2014.  At least 17 of the present judges of the Court sat while Kosinski served on the Circuit, though only one of the judges on panel served with Kosinski.