In 2014, Sophia Stewart sued for copyright theft of her screenplay, The Third Eye, in the Utah Federal Court. She won. 

The judgment she received allows her to place liens on the debtor's property. To do this, she must file the court judgment with the appropriate authorities to officially enter the lien against the property.

Key Clarifications:

• Winning vs. Liens: You do not receive a "lien" as a prize for winning. You receive a court judgment (a legal ruling that someone owes you money).

• The Process: Once you have that judgment, you can use it to file a lien against the debtor's real estate or other assets. This prevents them from selling or refinancing the property without paying you.

• Proof: The "proof" you mentioned is the judgment itself. Once the court rules in your favor, that document serves as the legal proof of debt required to record the lien.

No media attention that announced the win, despite a court room full of journalists. What followed were smear campaigns or mythologizing Sophia as a fictitious internet hoax and the defendants involved avoided jail time and continued producing films using Sophia's intellectual property. 

On May 12, 1981 a shell company was created; Pacific Western Production & later on Hemdale Films  by Hollywood Producer, Gale Anne Hurd using it to counterfeit copyright assignments. Hurd and Cameron have been lying to the public for 42 years. Judges, lawyers, clerks, law enforcement agencies, courts, trademark agencies, agents, have aided to cover up the theft.

In 2014, Sophia also sued her attorneys for Malpractice and won that Lawsuit; a default judgment against her former attorneys, resulted in a monetary award for legal costs of $316,280.62.

For perspective. It is extremely rare for writers to win copyright theft lawsuits against major Hollywood studios; most cases are dismissed, settled out of court with non-disclosure agreements, or lost at trial.  The legal system generally protects the expression of ideas (the script) rather than the ideas themselves, making it difficult to prove infringement unless there is word-for-word plagiarism or a breach of an implied contract. 

While there are notable cases where writers sued studios, few resulted in a public court verdict declaring the writer won on the merits of copyright infringement.  Most "wins" are actually settlements where studios paid to avoid litigation risks, or cases where studios were ordered to pay the writer's legal fees after dismissing a meritless claim. 

Here are key examples illustrating this landscape:

Art Buchwald won a seven-year legal battle against Paramount over Coming to America, receiving $825,000 in damages.  

Mark Dunn sued Paramount for $300 million, alleging The Truman Show stole from his play Frank’s Life, though the suit was ultimately unsuccessful. 

Jeffrey Zaslow is cited in the context as a plaintiff suing Paramount and Andrew Niccol, though the text primarily discusses Mark Dunn’s similar case against the same studio.

Thomas Althouse sued the Wachowskis and Warner Bros. over The Matrix, claiming it stole from his script The Immortals, but the judge ruled the premises were not substantially similar.

Donna Douglas and Curt Wilson sued Disney over Sister Act, rejecting a $1 million settlement before the case proceeded. Stephenson (writer of Luca) accused the writers of The Holdovers of plagiarism, triggering a WGA investigation into "plagiarism by transposition."

The estate of Paul Zindel sued Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water, which was dismissed after a settlement was reached.

Mikhail Raskhodnikov sued Fox over The Martian, demanding $761,700 for ripping off his script Marsianin.  

Timothy Patrick McLanahan sued Tom Cruise and Paramount for **$1 billion over Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, a claim dismissed as "bizarre." 

Tess Gerritsen sued the banner of Gravity for **$10 million, claiming the film copied her novel.  

Douglas Jordan-Benel sued Universal over The Purge, alleging idea theft.

Lisa Litchfield sued Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison over E.T., but the court ruled in their favor due to lack of substantial similarity.

Chuck Wepner sued Sylvester Stallone over Rocky, resulting in an undisclosed settlement.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011): Author Peter Gallagher sued for $10 million, claiming plagiarism of his novel The Little White Trip. The court dismissed the case, ruling that the premise of friends being murdered in a remote location is an unprotectable premise.

The Unborn (2009): Daniel Segal sued for breach of contract, claiming the film stole from his relative’s book Transfers. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the claim, stating the works were not similar enough.

Zootopia (2016): Writer Gary L. Goldman sued Disney, claiming his treatment for Total Recall was stolen for Zootopia. Disney prevailed in federal court, arguing that a rabbit and a squirrel are not substantially similar. 

Avatar (2009): Writer Bryant Moore sued James Cameron for $2.5 billion, alleging his scripts were stolen. Cameron won the case, and Moore’s claims were dismissed. Cases Settled Out of Court (No Public "Win")

Happy Death Day (2017): Jonathan Bertuccelli sued Universal Pictures, claiming the baby mask infringed on his NBA mascot’s likeness. The case settled in 2021, but the terms were undisclosed. 

Why Writers Rarely Win

Idea vs. Expression: Copyright law does not protect ideas, only their specific expression.  Studios can change details to avoid infringement. Anti-SLAPP Laws: Studios often use anti-SLAPP motions to dismiss cases early, arguing that the lawsuit is a strategic attempt to silence free speech.  

If the writer cannot prove they will likely win, they may be ordered to pay the studio’s legal fees. Access and Similarity: Writers must prove the studio had access to their work and that the works are substantially similar.  These are high burdens to meet in court.In summary, while writers frequently sue studios for idea theft, publicly reported court victories on the merits are virtually nonexistent.  Most resolutions are confidential settlements or dismissals.

Federal Court

In 2014, the Utah Federal Court awarded judgement to Sophia Stewart, the plaintiff, who sued Gale Anne Hurd, The Wackowski’s, James Cameron, Warner Bros et al… for the theft and appropriation of her screenplay The Third Eye that was split into two narratives to produce the MATRIX and the Terminator movie franchises.

This Federal court ruling established the true ownership of the copyrights to the intellectual property, The Matrix & The Terminator.

The United States Government settled the matter – The Enter The Matrix copyright proves that the trademark with same name is owned by Sophia Stewart.

Plagiarism is not un-common and especially in Hollywood. Un-known writers often submit their material to major studios to have their screenplays appropriated and produced by entities who are bereft of original ideas. 

How do they get away with it? Film Studios and the Film Industry Executives, like the music industry are people who are institutionally protected, financially and politically assisted, and are able to legitimize lies and fabrications as truth to an unsuspecting public. are promoted and supported by the media to deny the truth.

Below are some of the legal documents relating to this case.

Doc- 287 –Final Judgment in Favor of Sophia Stewart - Download PDF

Doc 283 -18 pages -See Page 4 Judges Rulings – Download PDF

Doc- 282 The Terminator Evidence Utah Federal – Download PDF

Doc 219- 1st Default Judgment Utah Federal Courts against my lawyers-One contract – Download Part 1 PDF

Utah Transcript-Defendants September 29, 2014-Liens on Warner Bros-$3.5 Billion- Download PDF 

Document 286- -$3.5 Billion in liens 66 pages doc. Also available on Utah Pacer – Download Part 1 PDF

Doc 25 Notice of Manual Filing PDF

Doc 288 against Warner Bros Liens – Download PDF

Doc 24 Defendants Motion  Download PDF