Overview

• On August 13, Paramount lodged its counterclaims in California federal court, alleging that Gray concealed his uncontracted role in drafting Maverick’s high-speed jet and dogfight sequences and is seeking damages for fraud and copyright infringement.
• Marc Toberoff argues that the studio’s counterclaims serve as a “ringing admission” of Gray’s role in writing most of the film’s character-defining action scenes.
• In late July, a federal judge rejected Gray’s bid for a court order to be recognized as a joint author and entitled to profits, while keeping his copyright infringement claim alive.
• Paramount highlights that Gray never signed a work-for-hire agreement with the studio and declined to pursue a Writers Guild credit determination, undermining his joint authorship assertions.
• Following earlier franchise rights disputes and Maverick’s $1.4 billion box office success, the ongoing litigation remains in pretrial discovery and could influence future credit and contract norms in Hollywood.