Plagiarism lawsuit against Mark Millar thrown out of court

A US-based author who launched a £1 billion lawsuit alleging Scots comic book writer Mark Millar had stolen his ideas has had his case thrown out.

A US-based author who launched a £1 billion lawsuit alleging Scots comic book writer Mark Millar had stolen his ideas has had his case thrown out.

A US-based author who launched a £1 billion lawsuit alleging Scots comic book writer Mark Millar had stolen his ideas has had his case thrown out.

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Michael Bennett claimed that Millar had plagiarised his self-published superhero novel Owl for comic book stories and movie pitches.

Bennett, of Norcross, Georgia, said he had sent his manuscript to comic book publisher Marvel’s New York headquarters in 2008 and alleged it had then fallen into Millar’s hands.

However, although Millar, 49, previously worked on Marvel projects, he was never an employee of the company and lived in Scotland at the time.

Bennett sued Marvel and Millar, originally of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, for copy-right infringement at the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He was seeking more than £917 million in damages but after 15 months of legal hearings his case has now been dismissed by Judge Eleanor L Ross.

She granted a motion to dismiss the action after ruling that Bennett’s claims were unfounded.

She found his examples of similarities between his book and the work of Millar and Marvel were “broad ideas” found in most action movies and comic books rather than copyright infringement.

Bennett has lodged an appeal against the decision.

Lawyers for Marvel described Bennett’s allegations as “unsubstantiated and ludicrously offensive” and said he had provided “no evidence” to support his accusations.

Bennett claimed scenes in the movies Kingsman and Kick-Ass, which were based on Millar’s comic book creations, were similar to scenes in Owl. He alleged the writer had taken his Owl character’s wings and costume to revamp the Captain America and Falcon characters. He also made bogus claims that Millar had hacked into his phone.

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Bennett even claimed a “grappling gun” featured in his novel had been stolen for a Captain America film.

Marvel pointed out the weapon had been used for decades by characters in comics and movies including Batman, Lara Croft, James Bond, Van Helsing, and Luke Skywalker and was not protected by copyright.

In 2017, Millar sold his Millarworld publishing company to home entertainment giants Netflix in a multi-million pound deal. He is now an executive at Netflix and creates exclusive movies and television shows for the company.

After signing his Netflix deal, Millar announced he will use some of his fortune to redevelop the Townhead area of his home town, starting with a plan to build 30 houses.