The story goes as follows: In April 1983, a man named Ehud Yonay got his story Top Guns published in California Magazine, accompanied by a series of photographs taken by C.J. Heatley. Yonay must have felt he had something special on his hands, as he promptly registered the article in October of that same year, and it’s really hard not to imagine it that way since Paramount actually secured the motion picture rights and allied rights tied to the story in an agreement signed with Yunay on May 18, 1983.
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In short, what Yonay’s heirs, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, argue in their lawsuit is that the rights to the article reverted back to the family in January 2020. According to the lawsuit, Paramount did not secure another licensing deal for Top Gun, and the Top Gun: Maverick sequel does qualify as a “prior derivative works exception” under copyright law because the film had not been completed prior to January 24, 2020. Court documents obtained by Deadline point to the Yonays legal team being spearheaded by attorney Marc Toberoff, who is famous for representing Marvel comic book heirs against Disney, as well as a former judge on the US 9th Court of Appeal Alex Kozinski.
The Yonays allege that Paramount’s response to a previous cease and desist letter that was sent to the studio acted in denial of Top Gun: Maverick’s derivative nature. According to Paramount, “the 2022 Sequel was ‘sufficiently completed’ by January 24, 2020 (the effective termination date)." Considering Top Gun has been raking in profits for Paramount as if it were a massive Marvel movie, it goes without saying economic interests in the case are quite substantial.
Anyone interested in reading the original Top Guns article can find it online in different sources. It’s a story that mostly focuses on two F-14 pilots from the era, Lieutenants Alex “Yogi” Hnarakis and Dave “Possum” Cully, whose call signs are admittedly a bit less cool than Maverick or Iceman. The timing of the lawsuit, dated June 6, 2022, seems rather odd, considering an injunction, even if successful, would have a lessened effect for Paramount now that the film has already earned over $550 million from the box office on a worldwide scale, even despite China’s ban on Top Gun: Maverick.
That same motion would also cover any future Top Gun sequels Paramount would want to make, although, considering the wheels of justice run far slower than an F-18, it’s hardly something that could ruin Maverick’s current momentum.
Top Gun: Maverick is currently available in theaters.
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Source: Deadline
