Opinion ID: 451941
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Extrinsic Test for Similarity of Ideas.

Text: 19 At a very high level of generality, the works do show a certain gruesome similarity. Both deal with criminal organizations that murder healthy young people, then remove and sell their vital organs to wealthy people in need of organ transplants. To some extent, both works take their general story from the adventures of a young professional who courageously investigates, and finally exposes, the criminal organization. But this degree of similarity between the basic plots of two works cannot sustain a plaintiff's claim that the works are substantially similar. No one can own the basic idea for a story. General plot ideas are not protected by copyright law; they remain forever the common property of artistic mankind. See Litchfield, 736 F.2d at 1357 (no copyright protection for general plot ideas); 3 M. Nimmer on Copyright Sec. 13.03[A] (1984). 20 The test for substantial similarity of ideas compares, not the basic plot ideas for stories, but the actual concrete elements that make up the total sequence of events and the relationships between the major characters. The extrinsic test for similarity of ideas looks beyond the vague, abstracted idea of a general plot and instead focuses on ... the objective details of the works.... The extrinsic test requires a comparison of plot, theme, dialogue, mood, setting, pace, and sequence. Litchfield, 736 F.2d at 1356. See also Jason, 526 F.Supp. at 777. In this case, we believe that the district court was correct in its judgment that no jury could reasonably conclude that plaintiff's Reincarnation and defendants' Coma were substantially similar in ideas. 21 In Reincarnation, for example, the main character does not, until very late in the story, participate in the investigation that exposes the criminal organization. Indeed, for most of Reincarnation, the plaintiff's Dr. Lamkin is a dupe of the criminal conspiracy. In Coma, Dr. Wheeler, who investigates the unexplained brain deaths of young, healthy patients, is moved to action by purely personal concerns: early in the story her best friend falls victim to the organization during a routine surgical procedure. In Reincarnation, on the other hand, Lieutenant DeNove, who investigates the mysterious disappearance of young women, is seeking to advance his career as a police detective. 22 The settings of both works are also dissimilar. Most of the events in Coma take place in a large metropolitan hospital. Only a few, relatively minor scenes in Reincarnation are set in a hospital. Coma is replete with references to sophisticated medical technology. Reincarnation is a less technically intimidating, if more traditionally satisfying detective story. 23 The major romantic relationship in Reincarnation, between Lieutenant DeNove and his wife, is a significant part of the story, and is used by the plaintiff to discuss the racial problems of the 1960s. The only romantic relationship in Coma, between Dr. Wheeler and her boyfriend, is not a major part of the story and is not used to treat larger social concerns. 24 Nevertheless, we recognize that there are some similarities between the works. The plaintiff argues that they raise at least a triable issue of fact on the substantial similarity of ideas issue. We believe that the plaintiff's argument rests on a misunderstanding of the nature of the protection afforded by copyright law. It is well established that, as a matter of law, certain forms of literary expression are not protected against copying. As noted earlier, the general idea for a story is among these. So too are all situations and incidents which flow naturally from a basic plot premise, so-called scenes a faire. See Jason, 526 F.Supp. at 777. Many of the similarities the plaintiff finds between Coma and his own work fall into this category of unprotectible expression. Many of the other similarities he lists--including depictions of the small miseries of domestic life, romantic frolics at the beach, and conflicts between ambitious young people on one hand, and conservative or evil bureaucracies on the other--are also unprotectible. These familiar scenes and themes are among the very staples of modern American literature and film. The common use of such stock cannot raise a triable issue of fact on the plaintiff's copyright claim. It merely reminds us that in Hollywood, as in the life of men generally, there is only rarely anything new under the sun. Taken separately or together, the common features of Coma and Reincarnation do not allow a reasonable inference that the works are substantially similar in their ideas. 25