By Blake Brittain
March 10 (Reuters) - A California federal jury said on Monday that Disney's DIS.N hit film "Moana" did not infringe an artist's copyrights related to his planned animated movie about a teenage hero in ancient Polynesia.
The jury rejected Buck Woodall's argument that Disney unlawfully copied from a script, storyboards and other content he shared with a film executive starting in the early 2000s for his film "Bucky," according to a spokesperson for Disney's law firm.
Woodall's attorney Gustavo Lage said they were disappointed with the verdict and would evaluate Woodall's options moving forward. Spokespeople for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict.
Woodall, who lives in Baja, Mexico, and Taos, New Mexico, first sued Disney in 2020. He said he shared materials for "Bucky" — about a teenage surfer who time travels to ancient Polynesia — with film executive Jenny Marchick, whose stepsister is Woodall's sister-in-law.
The lawsuit said that Woodall in 2011 sent a final draft script for "Bucky" to Marchick, who allegedly passed it off to Disney.
Woodall argued that "Moana" copied from "Bucky," citing similarities in their plots, settings and other elements. Disney argued that the makers of "Moana" never saw Woodall's materials and that the works were not similar enough to support his claims.
Woodall asked in the lawsuit for at least $100 million in damages. The case was narrowed to only involve Disney's home video distribution wing Buena Vista Home Entertainment after the court found his claims based on the film's theatrical release were time-barred.
Woodall separately brought a similar case over "Moana 2" in January in which he is seeking at least $10 billion in damages.
The case is Woodall v. Walt Disney Co, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:20-cv-03772.
For Woodall: Gustavo Lage and Augusto Lopez of Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Gomez & Machado
For Disney: Moez Kaba, Robert Klieger and Sourabh Mishra of Hueston Hennigan; Arwen Johnson and Michael Roth of King & Spalding
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
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