'God's Not Dead' movie studio sued for alleged copyright infringement

Two individuals are suing the production company behind the film "God's Not Dead" for allegedly infringing their copyright. 

The legal complaint, filed in California on June 6, alleges that defendants Pure Flix Entertainment and its co-founder Davide A.R. White have lifted the creative elements of "God's Not Dead" from "Rise," the unproduced screenplay of plaintiffs Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Michael Landon, Jr. By producing and releasing the film, which has so far earned above $140 million worldwide, the "defendants destroyed plaintiffs' prospects for producing a motion picture based on their Rise screenplay."

Kullberg, according to the complaint, is the author of the autobiography "Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas," which contributed to the story and screenplay of "Rise." She is the founder of non-profit organization The Veritas Forum. Landon, meanwhile, is a producer, writer, and director.

Landon and Kullberg agreed to collaborate on a project stemming from the book, having titled it "Rise," the screenplay of which was registered with the Writers Guild of America in 2010 and with the United States Copyright Office in 2012. Kullberg had disclosed details of their planned film to Woody White, the president the Cecil B. Day Foundation, who then allegedly told Ted Baehr, Chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission.

"Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and thereon allege, that Baehr, perhaps without knowing that Rise was the intellectual property of the plaintiffs, discussed Rise with defendant David A.R. White," reads the complaint. "Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and thereon allege, that after hearing about Rise, David A.R. White decided to stop working on Proof and decided instead to make a motion picture based on what he knew about Rise."

"Proof" is another project that Pure Flix is said to have been working on at the time.

The complaint lists down elements of "God's Not Dead" that the plaintiffs find similar to "Rise," including characters, dialogue, setting, and theme, plot, sequence.

"Throughout 2015 and 2016, Kullberg and Landon continued to reach out, both directly and through their counsel, asking Pure Flix to agree to mediation or an informal discussion about the origins of God's Not Dead," the complaint reads. "These requests were again denied and answered only by Pure Flix's counsel."

The plaintiffs are asking the court to rule that the defendants infringed their copyright, and that damages be paid for their loss of profits on "Rise," for Pure Flix's gains and profits earned on "God's Not Dead," attorney's fees, and others.