3 Count: Moana Victory

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1: Disney Didn’t Copy ‘Moana’ From a Man’s Story of a Surfer Boy, a Jury Says

First off today, Andrew Dalton at The Associated Press reports that a jury has ruled in favor of Disney in a long-running lawsuit over the film Moana.

Author and animator Buck Woodall filed the lawsuit, alleging that Moana infringed his outline and script for Bucky the Surfer Boy. However, after just 2.5 hours of deliberation, the jury found that Disney did not have access to Woodall’s script, bringing an end to the case.

Since the jury found that Disney did not have access to the work, they never analyzed their alleged similarities. A separate Woodall lawsuit over the film Moana 2 is still active. Woodall said that he would review his options before deciding how to proceed.

2: Ed Sheeran’s Second ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Copyright Case Appealed to US Supreme Court

Next up today, Daniel Tencer at Music Business Worldwide reports that lawyers for Structured Asset Sales (SAS) have appealed their lawsuit against Ed Sheeran to the US Supreme Court.

SAS owns part of the rights to the 1973 Marvin Gaye song Let’s Get it On. They filed the lawsuit, alleging that Sheeran’s song Thinking Out Loud is an infringement of that work. However, both the district and appeals courts have ruled against them.

The case is the second lawsuit over these two songs. The first, filed by the estate of Gaye co-author Ed Townsend, ended in 2023 after a jury verdict ruled it was not infringing. However, SAS has opted to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. The court will decide whether to hear the case or allow the lower court rulings to stand.

3: Miley Cyrus’ Bid to Dismiss ‘Flowers’ Lawsuit Challenged by Judge

Finally today, Nancy Dillon at Rolling Stone reports that a judge appeared skeptical of Miley Cyrus’ motion to dismiss the Flowers lawsuit, indicating that he believes the plaintiff has standing to sue.

Tempo Music Investments filed the lawsuit, alleging that the Miley Cyrus song Flowers was an infringement of the 2013 Bruno Mars song When I Was Your Man. Tempo purchased a fractional share of the song from one of the four co-authors.

This prompted Cyrus’ lawyers to argue that Tempo lacked standing to sue, saying that only the original co-author should have that right. However, the judge appeared skeptical of that argument, saying it would turn the music industry “on its ear.”

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