Midnight in Paris Suit Thrown Out of Court

On July 18, the a U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Mississippi dismissed claims that the 2011 Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris “infringed the copyright of Requiem for a Nun” when it used a famous quote from the cross-genre novel.” The estate of late author William Faulkner brought the suit against Sony Pictures in 2012. Finnegan partner B. Brett Heavner provided commentary on the decision, explaining, “This was a super-tough case that was probably unlikely to succeed.” In his analysis of the claims, Judge Michael Mills wrote, “The court is doubtful that any relevant markets have been harmed by the use in Midnight. How Hollywood’s flattering and artful use of literary allusion is a point of litigation, not celebration, is beyond this court’s comprehension.”