arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Gregorini v. Shyamalan: Can Access Trump Similarity in a Globalised Digital Age?

Anna Monnereau

The Journal of World Intellectual Property2026https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.70012article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Abstract On the 20th February 2025, the final judgement of Gregorini v. Shyamalan rejected director Gregorini's claims that the show ‘Servant’ produced by Apple TV+ copied her independent film ‘The Truth About Emanuel’. Infringement can be established by proving substantial similarity and access to the work. Although the official complaint appeared to evidence substantial similarity, it did not establish access. In rejecting infringement claims due to lack of demonstrated access, the ruling threatens the future protection of artistic and literary works. A strict application of the law reveals that the conditions for copyright infringement may be outdated in a digitalised and globalised age. Access can be immediate, universal and untraceable. This note examines the court's assessment of both similarity and access, concluding that the requirement of proof of access reflects a misunderstanding of the purpose of copyright law and an outdated view of the entertainment industry.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.70012

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{anna2026,
  title        = {{Gregorini v. Shyamalan: Can Access Trump Similarity in a Globalised Digital Age?}},
  author       = {Anna Monnereau},
  journal      = {The Journal of World Intellectual Property},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.70012},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Gregorini v. Shyamalan: Can Access Trump Similarity in a Globalised Digital Age?

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.