Stolen Script: Indian Filmmaker Takes Netflix to Court Over Alleged ‘Squid Game’ Plagiarism
2009 Movie Released, Plagiarism Claims… “Same Storyline”
The Netflix original series that created a K-drama craze around the world has been embroiled in a plagiarism controversy. According to an American economic journal, on the 13th (local time), Indian film director Soham Shah filed a lawsuit against Netflix in a New York federal court, claiming that it plagiarized his film (Luck).
Shah described the 2009 film as “a story about a group of desperate, debt-stricken people who enter a series of competitive games in hopes of making a lot of money.” He then claimed, “The main plot, characters, themes, atmosphere, setting, and sequence of events of ‘Squid Game’ are surprisingly similar to ‘Luck’,” and “I copied the storyline of the movie I made as is.”
Plagiarism controversy ahead of Season 2 release
“The characters in ‘Luck’ only realize once they start competing that losing any challenge will mean death, and that if another contestant dies, the prize pool for the remaining contestants increases,” Shah said. He then claimed plagiarism, saying, “Director Hwang Dong-hyeok said in an interview that he first conceived the scenario for Squid Game in 2009, but ‘Luck’ is a movie that was released in 2009.”
Shah emphasized in the filing that the company had increased Netflix’s market value by more than $900 million (about 1.2 trillion won). It also said Netflix continues to infringe its copyrights by monetizing content derived from reality TV, game shows and immersive experiences.
Netflix Dismisses ‘Unfounded Claims’
<img src="https://thumbnews.nateimg.co.kr/view610///news.nateimg.co.kr/orgImg/oh/2024/09/15/IE003350318STD.jpg” alt=”Netflix original series still cut” loading=”lazy” />
However, a Netflix spokesperson denied this, saying, “The claim is baseless,” and “‘Squid Game’ is a work written and created by director Hwang Dong-hyuk, and we will vigorously defend it.” Produced by Netflix with a production cost of approximately 21 million dollars (approximately 28 billion won), has gained worldwide popularity since its release in September 2021.
It was the first non-English drama to be nominated in 14 categories at the 2022 US Primetime Emmy Awards, and won six awards, including Best Director for Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Best Actor for Lee Jung-jae, Best Visual Effects, and Best Production Design. Director Hwang Dong-hyeok recently produced season 2 of the drama, which is scheduled to be released on Netflix on December 26.