Angelina Jolie Wins Plagiarism Lawsuit

Angelina Jolie did not plagiarize the work of James Braddock to make her directorial debut In The Land Of Blood and Honey.

Braddock filed a lawsuit against the actress in 2011 saying that Jolie plagiarized his book Salamanje Duse. Braddock said that one of the film’s producers, Edin Sarkic, read his story in order to create the plot of Jolie’s movie.

At the time, Jolie said: “It’s par for the course. It happens on almost every film … There are many books and documentaries that I did pull from … It’s a combination of many people’s stories. But that particular book I’ve never seen.”

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, however, ruled that the film did not steal from Braddock’s work. Gee agreed that there were many similar concepts in Salamanje Duse and In The Land Of Blood And Honey but said that the themes were too general to justify plagiarism charges.

Gee said that scenes of rape were prevalent in both works but said that Braddock had no claim over the concept of “rape as a war crime … particularly in light of the fact that those overlapping concepts are commonplace in books and films depicting war.”

Gee’s ruling is final but Braddock may decide to file an appeal. The author has not made any indication yet that he will file an appeal.