Conversation so far:
what were the plot precedents of shakespeare in love?
strong similarities between the film and the 1941 novel No Bed for Bacon, by Caryl Brahms and S.
J.
Simon, which also features Shakespeare falling in love.
what other similarities were there?
Alexandre Duval's "Shakespeare amoureux ou la Piece a l'Etude" (1804), in which Shakespeare falls in love with an actress who is playing Richard III.
any other similarities?
bestselling author Faye Kellerman.
She claimed that the plotline was stolen from her 1989 novel The Quality of Mercy.
what came of this?
An out-of-court settlement was reached but the sum agreed between the parties indicates that the claim was "unwarranted".
what else happened with the suit?
Miramax Films spokesman Andrew Stengel derided the claim, filed in the US District Court six days before the 1999 Academy Awards, as "absurd", and argued.
what did he argue?
Andrew Stengel derided the claim, filed in the US District Court six days before the 1999 Academy Awards, as "absurd", and argued that the timing "suggests a publicity stunt".

Question: was it a publicity stunt?
Self-contained rewrite: Was the claim of the plot of Shakespeare in Love being stolen a publicity stunt?