Ted Berkic v. Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, Marvin Moss, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/united Artists Entertainment Company

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• observing that no protection may be afforded to “situations and incidents which flow naturally from a basic plot premise”
• stating that “certain forms of literary expression” such as “the general idea for a story,” are “not protected against copying”
• denying protection to \familiar scenes and themes [which] are among the very staples of modern American literature and film\
• finding no substantial similarity between two works about exposing a criminal organization that murders healthy people and sells the organs for transplants
• denying protection to “familiar scenes and themes [which] are among the very staples of modern American literature and film”
• denying protection to “familiar scenes and themes [which] are among the very staples of modern American literature and film”

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).