Kung Fu Panda Plagiarism Case Thrown Out Over Colouring Book 'Tracing' Claims

A plagiarism case has been thrown out of court and the claimant charged with fraud and perjury, after it was alleged that he traced characters from a colouring book and tried to pass them off as proof his work was stolen.

51-year-old Jayme Gordon from Massachusetts had been embroiled in a lawsuit with Dreamworks since 2011, claiming that his work had been used in the ‘Kung Fu Panda’ movies, reports Reuters.

The case had cost the Steven Spielberg-founded studio £2 million to defend, with Gordon saying the Jack Black-voiced character was based on a story he came up with, called 'Panda Power’.

He was asking for an £8 million settlement from the studio, but is now facing four counts of fraud and three counts of perjury instead.

If found guilty, he could go to jail for up to 20 years.

Said Harold Shaw of the FBI: “Mr Gordon went to great lengths to orchestrate and maintain this fraudulent scheme, trying to take credit for ideas he did not come up with.

“This case demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to root out individuals who try to steal ideas and information from hard-working American companies.”

It’s alleged that he traced panda drawings – and then backdated them and later deleted important evidence from his computer – from sources which included a Lion King colouring book from 1996.

Robert Griffin, defending Gordon, says that his client maintains he is innocent.

Meanwhile, 'Kung Fu Panda 3’ is due out in March, 2016.

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Image credits: Dreamworks