Aalmuhammed v. Lee

Spike Lee (defendant) produced the film Malcolm X. Jefri Aalmuhammed (plaintiff) assisted with the production-helping Denzel Washington with his role, directing him on set, suggesting script edits used in the final cut for historical and religious accuracy, and editing some footage-but Lee had the final say on everything Aalmuhammed contributed, and there was no written contract. Aalmuhammed was denied co-writer credit and listed instead as 'Islamic Technical Consultant.' He sued Lee, his production companies, and Warner Brothers for a declaration that the film was a joint work of which he was a co-author. The district court granted the defendants summary judgment, and he appealed.

Whether a valuable and independently copyrightable contribution to a work necessarily makes the contributor a joint author of that work.