A US federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the 2022 Tom Cruise blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” did not infringe a magazine article that inspired the original 1986 “Top Gun” film.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, said “Maverick,” from Paramount Pictures, was not substantially similar to “Top Guns,” a 1983 article by Ehud Yonay about the US Navy’s Top Gun fighter pilot training school in San Diego.

Yonay gave Paramount rights to his article that year for the original “Top Gun,” and was credited in the film.

His widow Shosh Yonay and son Yuval Yonay, heirs to his copyright, terminated the license in 2020 and said they deserved some profits from “Maverick,” whose $1.5 billion worldwide gross is the 14th highest ever according to Box Office Mojo. “Maverick” is also Cruise’s highest-grossing film.

Lawyers for the Yonays did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Paramount, part........

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