Court Dismisses Copyright Suit Against Netflix's 'Squid Game'

Indian filmmaker's claims of infringement against hit Korean series rejected

Apr. 15, 2026 at 10:09am

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A high-end, photorealistic studio still-life photograph featuring a stack of legal documents, a gavel, and a pair of eyeglasses arranged on a clean, white background, conceptually representing the gravity and significance of the court's ruling in a copyright dispute.The court's dismissal of the copyright lawsuit against Netflix's 'Squid Game' underscores the challenges foreign creators face in protecting their works in the U.S. legal system.NYC Today

A federal court in New York has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Indian filmmaker Soham Shah against Netflix and the creator of the hit Korean series 'Squid Game'. The court found that Shah failed to establish ownership of the copyrights to his 2009 Hindi film 'Luck' and its 2008 screenplay, and that the two works are not substantially similar in their expression.

Why it matters

The ruling reinforces key principles of copyright law, including that ideas themselves are not protectable, only the unique expression of those ideas. It also highlights the challenges foreign creators can face in asserting ownership of their works in U.S. courts, where the local laws of the work's origin country are applied.

The details

Shah alleged that the 2021 Netflix series 'Squid Game' infringed the copyrights of his 2009 Hindi film 'Luck' and its 2008 screenplay. Both works involve debt-ridden individuals competing in a series of deadly games for a cash prize. However, the court found that the two works differed significantly in their narrative structure, character development, atmosphere, genre, and specific plot details. The court also ruled that Shah failed to adequately establish his ownership of the 'Luck' film's copyright under Indian law, as the producer Shree Ashtavinayak was deemed the original copyright holder.

  • The court dismissed the lawsuit on September 30, 2025.
  • Shah filed the copyright infringement complaint on September 13, 2024.

The players

Soham Shah

An Indian filmmaker who alleged that the Netflix series 'Squid Game' infringed the copyrights of his 2009 Hindi film 'Luck' and its 2008 screenplay.

Netflix, Inc.

The American streaming giant that was a defendant in the copyright infringement lawsuit.

Hwang Dong-Hyuk

The South Korean writer and creator of the Netflix series 'Squid Game'.

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.

The Indian production company that was deemed the original copyright holder of the 'Luck' film under Indian law.

Justice Ronnie Abrams

The judge who granted Netflix's motion to dismiss the copyright infringement complaint.

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What they’re saying

“The ruling reinforces core principles of copyright law. First, when a U.S. court assesses standing for a work of foreign origin, it will look to the law of the work's country of origin to determine ownership, but the plaintiff must still satisfy the U.S. requirement of owning an 'exclusive right' to sue.”

— Nitika Sinha, Attorney at S.S. Rana & Co.

What’s next

The judge's decision to dismiss the case with prejudice means Shah is barred from refiling the lawsuit. However, he may still have the option to appeal the ruling.

The takeaway

This case highlights the challenges foreign creators can face in asserting copyright claims in the U.S., where local laws of the work's origin country are applied. It also underscores that copyright protection extends only to the unique expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves, even if two works share broad conceptual similarities.