Writer Claims Disney & Others Stole His Idea For Pirates Of The Caribbean Movie

Royce Matthews filed a copyright infringement suit in a Los Angeles court earlier this month and in it he claims the Walt Disney Co., Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and Jerry Bruckheimer Inc. used material he’d been creating since the early 1980s for a “super natural pirate movie.”

The writer alleges he “created and wrote a number of original works including drawings, screenplays, outlines, blueprints, storyboards and other original materials” and claims those materials were pillaged to make the Hollywood hit starring Johnny Depp.

The suit claims that items, including a drawing depicting a pirate ship named the Black Pearl, were filed with the US Copyright Office.

Disney has brushed off the accusation. Company spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said the suit has “no merit”.

Matthews is seeking unspecified damages and a permanent injunction against the movie and “other infringing works.”

The 2003 hit earned $305 million at the American box office and its sequel, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, had a record-breaking debut raking in $135.6 million (US) in its opening weekend.

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