Francesca Gregorini vs. Apple Inc. et al

Case Background

On January 15, 2021, Plaintiff Francesca Gregorini filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court, California Central, Western Division (Case number: 2:20cv406). This case was assigned to Judge Sunshine Suzanne Syke and referred to Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian.

Cause

Francesca Gregorini, an independent filmmaker, filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc., M. Night Shyamalan, and Blinding Edge Pictures, alleging copyright infringement. She claimed that the defendants unlawfully copied her 2013 psychological thriller The Truth About Emanuel to create the Apple TV+ series Servant. Gregorini had written, directed, and produced Emanuel, which told the story of a troubled young woman hired as a nanny to care for an ultra-realistic doll. The doll, believed by the grieving mother to be her real child, played a key role in the plot. The film explored themes of grief, psychological trauma, and misplaced maternal affection. Gregorini argued that Servant copied her film’s unique premise, themes, plot structure, character relationships, and cinematic techniques. She contended that the defendants had access to Emanuel, as it had been widely available on streaming platforms, including Apple’s own iTunes, before Servant premiered. Gregorini maintained that the striking similarities between her film and Servant were not coincidental. She alleged that the defendants had intentionally appropriated her creative work without her consent.

Injuries

Gregorini suffered significant professional and reputational harm due to the alleged copyright infringement. She had been working on developing Emanuel into a television series. The release of Servant effectively destroyed her opportunity to do so. By