James Cameron, accused of plagiarism by Chinese author

Chinese newspaper ‘The New Beijing’ reports that the writer Zhou Shaomou has filed a lawsuit claiming copyright of Avatarat the courts of the Chinese capital city. According to Shaomou, the book he wrote, Tale of the Blue Crows, was published in 1997 and then became available on the Internet in 1999, which made it easier for the film’s creative team to exploit the story. Shaomou alleges that 80% of the contents of the film are identical to those of his novel. Currently, the Chinese justice system has not supported its compatriot’s allegations and states that the documents presented are incomplete. Furthermore, the oriental affiliate of 20th Century Fox claims that Avatar was written well before 1999.

Despite his lack of success last night at the Oscars, where it only won three statuettes (cinematography, art direction and visual effects), the film has been a hit all over the world and, in particular, in China, where many citizens identified with the characters in the story due to their government’s habit of seizing land inhabited by country people.