Heroes Versus Astropia: Copying, Infringement or None of the Above?

Gunnar B. Gudmundsson's Astropia has only screened twice in the United States but this Icelandic film set box office receipts in its home country. The film's plot revolves around a pampered young woman whose main source of money (her crooked boyfriend) dries up, thus forcing her to take a job in a comic book store. The only reason she gets the job is because of her looks; she knows nothing about comics or role-playing games. She slowly acclimates to the job and makes new, nerdy friends.

So, when a clip from the popular NBC television show Heroes appeared online that looked very similar to those featured in Astropia, the creators of the film were rather alarmed. This sense of dismay was heightened by the fact that the creative team is currently negotiating for a U.S. remake. This scenario provides a convenient excuse to examine the applicable doctrine for determining copyright infringement in film scripts, books or plays. A legal breakdown will occur in the next post but for now, compare the the clips from Heroes and Astropia shown below. Keep in mind that the analysis goes beyond surface comparisons.

1. Clip from Heroes

2. Scene from Astropia