A federal appeals court has upheld Apple's win in a copyright lawsuit over its Apple TV series Servant, ending the plaintiff's latest attempt to overturn a jury verdict, according to a report from MacRumors citing Reuters.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decision on October 22, 2026. It affirmed the unanimous jury verdict returned on January 24, 2025 in favor of Apple, the show's creator and executive producer M. Night Shyamalan, and the other defendants.
What the case was about
The suit was filed in January 2020 by filmmaker Francesca Gregorini. She alleged that the first three episodes of Servant borrowed from her 2013 film The Truth About Emanuel. In her complaint, she pointed to shared elements: a grieving mother who treats a lifelike doll as if it were her living baby, and a young woman who is brought in as a caregiver.
The case has had a long procedural history. It was initially dismissed in 2020, then revived on appeal in 2022, and finally went before a jury, which sided with the defendants in early 2025.
The appeal
On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the verdict should be thrown out because of flawed jury instructions and because the judge did not answer a question the jury had raised. The Ninth Circuit was not persuaded on either point.
According to the report, the court found the instructions adequate. It also held that the trial judge was entitled to accept the jury's unanimous verdict before responding to the request for clarification. The appeal centered on whether jurors had enough guidance to decide whether the show's creators could have had access to the plaintiff's film.
Why it matters
Servant was among the first original dramas on Apple TV when the service launched, and ran for four seasons. The ruling removes a legal cloud that has hung over the series for nearly seven years. Whether the plaintiff will seek further review was not stated in the report.
This story is based on reporting by MacRumors, which in turn cites Reuters; Cupertino News has not independently reviewed the court's opinion.
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