In March 2001, a U.S. District Court jury in Birmingham, Michigan, ruled that 20th Century Fox stole the script idea, "Jingle All the Way", from Detroit High School biology teacher, Brian Webster. The studio was ordered to pay $19 million, later reduced to $1.5 million. Webster submitted the script, then named "Could This Be Christmas?", to the studio in 1994 and never received payment or credit despite the film making $183 million. Fox appealed and the verdict was reversed, since Webster's script was submitted after the studio had already purchased a treatment (summary/outline) of what would become the film's script. The court acknowledged that it is not difficult to believe that two writers can independently create a plot using similar inspiration/experience.
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