WHAT HAPPENED WHEN A MAN TRIED TO SUE DREAMWORKS AFTER CLAIMING HE CREATED KUNG FU PANDA FIRST?
In 2011, James Gordon filed a copyright lawsuit against DreamWorks – claiming that DreamWorks had in fact stolen the idea for Kung Fu Panda, from him.
According to various sources, “Gordon sued DreamWorks for copyright infringement and proposed that the company settle for $12m. DreamWorks refused, and litigation continued for a further two years, costing the studio $3m in legal fees.”
I’m sure Gordon went into this, possibly thinking that DreamWorks would just settle. But boy was he wrong.
During the trial, it came out that Gordon’s evidence was a sketch he created. But it turned out it was from a Lion King colouring book. He also deleted evidence from his computer, as well as lying under oath.
In the end, he was sentenced to two years in prison, and ordered to pay for DreamWorks’ legal costs which came to around $3 million.