Apple Wins 'Servant' Copyright Case on Appeal as Well

Apple and producer M. Night Shyamalan have prevailed on appeal in the long-running copyright dispute over the Apple TV series "Servant." The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld last year's jury verdict in Apple's favor.

In its October 22 ruling, the court rejected the objections of filmmaker Francesca Gregorini, who argued that problems with the jury instructions and an unanswered question from the jury required the verdict to be overturned. The court disagreed on both counts, leaving Apple and Shyamalan with wins both before the jury and on appeal.

The lawsuit: similarities between two stories

Gregorini filed the suit in January 2020. She alleged that the first three episodes of "Servant" were copied from her 2013 film "The Truth About Emanuel." In both stories, a grieving mother treats a reborn doll as if it were a real child, and a young caregiver plays a central role. The case rested on these shared narrative elements.

The path was far from a straight line. The case was initially dismissed in 2020, then revived on appeal in 2022 and sent to trial. The same dispute thus produced different outcomes at different stages before finally reaching a jury, which ruled for the defendants.

The jury verdict and the appeals court's reasoning

On January 24, 2025, the jury unanimously found for Apple, Shyamalan and the other defendants, and the final judgment reflected that result. The appeal turned on a key question: were jurors given adequate guidance to assess whether the show's creators may have encountered Gregorini's film? That matters in copyright cases, because whether one work served as a source for a later one also depends on whether its creators had access to it.

Gregorini's side argued that the jury instructions were flawed and that a question from the jury that went unanswered should invalidate the outcome. The court did not accept that view. It concluded that the instructions were adequate and noted that the judge could accept the unanimous verdict without first answering the jury's request for clarification. Those two findings led to the rejection of the bid to overturn the verdict. There is no information in the available reporting about Gregorini's next step.

A brief note on the series

"Servant" stars Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint, with Shyamalan serving as an executive producer. The series, including the first three episodes at the center of the case, streamed on Apple TV throughout its run.

Apple TV is Apple's streaming service, offering its original series and films under its own name. In this case, the outcome went Apple's and Shyamalan's way at both the jury stage and on appeal. The copyright claim over the show's first three episodes has thus failed to gain traction in the courts at this stage.