Pirates of the Caribbean Lawsuit

I don't know if this is the topic of another thread, I've done a little searching and haven't found anything recently so I'm gonna start a new one.

Recently, Screamscape.com displayed photos from the guy claiming that Disney stole his ideas for Pirates of the Caribbean. The photo comparisons are very incriminating and the whole lawsuit is kind of a tricky topic. I've been considering this for a while now, and one thing puzzles me. Isn't the comparison too much alike?

If someone, namely the writers, director, and producer of POTC:CBP wished to copy an already copyrighted movie, wouldn't you think that it would be not quite as obvious. This raises some very interesting questions. Why would those supposedly responsible go to such lengths as to replicate every scene from this movie, even down to the names and plot? It just doesn't make any sense.

My gut feeling says that either the plantiff in the case has some trickery up his sleeve, or there is something to the backstory of this whole case that Disney is doing a very good job keeping quiet.

Does anyone else have any explanations or theories as to why this is? If this case is still pending, why was Disney allowed to make the sequel to the movie, surely a judge would put a halt to any further incarnations if the first is under intellectual property theft.

What do you think?

My guess is he's probably still looking for a lawyer to take the case... his website hasn't been updated in a looooooooooong time.

He has found legal representation, his website actually has been updated, but it's home page still looks the same.

I remember this from a while back. While reading, I couldn't help thinking that some of the ghost pirate scenes are straight from the ride. Of course the story of the ride is not nearly so complex as the movie, but I can see where the ride would have most definitely inspired it. Sometimes people just get similar ideas, especially if they're looking at the same inspiration.

Okay, I skimmed the website and it looks like a big steaming pile to me.

Where's his proof that he came up with this information before Disney? There is none that I can find. It looks like he took a list of elements from the movie, then said he came up with it first.

If he wins this lawsuit, I'm so doing the same thing for Indiana Jones!

The original nameless supernatural short was turned into a PC game and was apparently on sale in the mid 90s at major outlets.

Also, he apparently did approach Disney about that time with the idea. They turned him down, so he made it himself.

The thing that makes me wonder is the fact that i can't find the name of the "supernatural pirate movie" that he made.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thejoshualee

The thing that makes me wonder is the fact that i can't find the name of the "supernatural pirate movie" that he made.

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There's a reason to this... he never gave it a title.

The game had a title (or else it wouldn't have been sold). The game was made of clips from the "supernatural pirate movie."

....if there was a name i would be sure to find it on youtube...lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hilsbro_Mclemington_III

....if there was a name i would be sure to find it on youtube...lol

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That's the thing. If he never released the movie then he has no real right to the ideas.

And if he released the game, and it it were really sold in major stores, then I should be able to find it somewhere, right? Where is the game? where is the proof?