Overview

• Paramount filed counterclaims on August 13 in the Southern District of New York, accusing Shaun Gray of fraud and copyright infringement for undisclosed contributions to the Top Gun: Maverick screenplay.
• Judge Jed S. Rakoff last month dismissed Gray’s co-authorship and profit-sharing claims but allowed his infringement suit against the studio to continue.
• The studio’s filing states Gray first disclosed his role in January 2023, months after the film’s May 2022 release and after opting not to assert authorship in the Writers Guild’s 2019 credit determination.
• Paramount alleges Gray hid his involvement to pressure the studio for credit and payment, claiming he exploited Paramount’s copyrighted characters and story elements.
• Gray’s attorney Marc Toberoff called the countersuit a tactic to intimidate his client and accused the studio of striking a secret deal with credited writer Eric Warren Singer.