Chechen author files lawsuit against 20th Century Fox over Avatar

Chechen writer Ruslan Zakriyev has filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox at the Moscow Khamovniki District Court, claiming that the US film studio took ideas for the film Avatar from his novel Secret Weapon.

Mr Zakriyev, who claims that certain scenes in Avatar are identical to those in his novel, is demanding ten million rubles (approx. US$142,000) in compensation and argues that the registration of rights for Secret Weapon, together with letters from Avatar director James Cameron, will confirm his accusations of plagiarism. According to Mr Zakriyev, Mr Cameron’s representatives have acknowledged the similarities between Secret Weapon (2002) and Avatar (2009).

In March 2015, the writer sent an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin to help resolve the matter. In April, he filed a lawsuit for plagiarism at the Alexandrovsky District Court in the Stavropol Territory, but the court dismissed the claim.

Source: Lenta (in Russian)