Overview
- Eric Ryder filed a federal copyright lawsuit in the Central District of California against James Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment, Disney and its subsidiaries over alleged copying in Avatar: The Way of Water.
- The complaint presents side-by-side comparisons and alleges the film appropriates protected elements from Ryder’s story KRZ, including a life‑extending animal-derived substance absent from the first Avatar.
- Ryder’s 2011 case over the original Avatar was dismissed, and the new suit asserts it targets distinct acts of copying that appear for the first time in Avatar 2.
- Ryder seeks compensatory damages exceeding $500 million, punitive damages, and court orders to stop further exploitation of The Way of Water and to block the Dec. 19 U.S. release of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
- Disney and Lightstorm did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to reports citing company spokespeople.