Apple wins appeal in 'Servant' case

On October 22, 2026, Apple Inc. and director M. Night Shyamalan preserved a key legal victory when the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to revive a copyright lawsuit over the Apple TV+ series "Servant." The case involved allegations that the 2019 series copied from a writer’s 2013 movie, but the appeals court left a prior jury outcome in place and rejected the plaintiff’s challenge to how the trial was conducted.

The Ninth Circuit issued an unsigned opinion that solidified Apple’s position in the dispute. By upholding the earlier result, the court confirmed that the prior proceedings and the jury’s decision would stand, closing off the attempt to reopen the case over the alleged similarities between the works.

A central issue on appeal was whether the district court erred in instructing the jury on how to assess a defendant’s access to a copyrighted work. The Ninth Circuit held that the district court did not err in relying on the circuit’s model jury instructions on showing access. The court concluded that the instructions were proper even though they did not separately list different ways access might be demonstrated.

The appeals court also addressed the handling of a jury question about the term "widely disseminated." The plaintiff had argued that the trial judge improperly failed to answer the question directly. The Ninth Circuit rejected that argument, finding no error in the court’s choice to allow the parties to present competing answers, rather than issuing a new instruction of its own.

With these findings, the Ninth Circuit dismissed the plaintiff’s objections to the trial court’s guidance and preserved the result in favor of Apple and Shyamalan. The decision leaves the jury’s rejection of the copying claims intact, confirming that the earlier verdict remains the final word in this particular dispute over "Servant."

The ruling has broader significance for Apple’s efforts in streaming and original programming. It reinforces Apple’s ability to defend the intellectual property associated with Apple TV+ content amid fierce competition among streaming platforms.