Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Alien Autopsy copyright: High Court of England and Wales grants summary judgment to Mindhouse, rejecting Melaris’ sole authorship claim given 2002/2006 assignments to Orbital; licence relied upon; appeal sought

Published on: 02 March 2026

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

The High Court found that there was no reasonable prospect of Spyros Melaris proving at trial that he had single-handedly made the pseudo-documentary, which has now been thoroughly debunked, or that he was entitled to a copyright claim for its exploitation.

Judge Richard Hacon entered summary judgment for Mindhouse Productions Ltd, holding that Melaris’s assertions of title and authorship were negated by contracts in which he assigned his rights. He remarked to Melaris, “I’m sorry the documents were against you.”

The judge said it was impossible to square the director’s account with 2002 and 2006 agreements recognising that Orbital Media Ltd owned the film’s copyright.

Melaris’s October claim alleged that Mindhouse misrepresented the provenance of Alien Autopsy. The company—set up by filmmakers Louis Theroux, Arron Fellows and Nancy Strang—was said to have downplayed Melaris’s ownership while advancing producer Ray Santilli’s false tale that the film was a restoration of genuine 1940s footage...

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