An unknown Chinese author is planning a $162 million lawsuit after claiming James Cameron plagiarised his story for the blockbuster Avatar.
Beijing man Zhou Shaomou claims he wrote a science-fiction novel called Tale Of The Blue Crows in 1997 which bears striking similarities to the plot of Cameron's film, Sky News reports.
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The book centres around a group of explorers who travel to a distant planet inhabited by blue-skinned beings, he said.
"I wrote in my novel that their space journey took them six years but in Cameron’s movie the journey takes them five years nine months and 22 days," he said.
"I was shocked when I first saw that — it is too close."
Zhou said he never thought he would get a publishing deal for the book so he released it online, where he claims it has been read by more than 10 million people.
He now plans to sue Cameron for $162 million in copyright infringement.
Zhou has reportedly tried twice to get his case heard in China but was denied both times.
Beijing-based lawyer Yang Huipeng told Sky News that Zhou would be better off taking his case to a US court, where any legal judgement would have greater effect.
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