A similar lawsuit in California was voluntarily dismissed in 2018, two months after it was filed at the same time as the Ontario one, according to court records there.
Both movies even include a mock commercial that highlights advertising’s power over this five-person control room./These similarities “extend from the title, to overarching themes, to minute and specific details — none of which can be the result of coincidence,” reads Pourshian’s statement of claim. “It is clear that the Infringing Work reproduces the inventive and central concept at the heart of the Original Works: the behavior and actions of the main “external” character, a school-age child, are controlled by five “internal” characters who work together and struggle against one another to help the external character navigate his or her daily life,” reads the statement of claim.
Someone’s looking for a payday.