Netflix Squid Game Lawsuit: Copyright, Injuries, and Network Costs

The main Squid Game lawsuit was a copyright infringement case brought by Indian filmmaker Soham Shah against Netflix and series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk in September 2024, alleging that the global hit was copied from his 2009 Bollywood film Luck. A federal judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed the case with prejudice on September 30, 2025, ruling that Shah did not own the copyright to Luck and that the two works were not substantially similar.¹

Who Sued Netflix and What They Claimed

Soham Shah directed Luck, a Hindi-language film released in July 2009 starring Imran Khan, Shruti Haasan, and Sanjay Dutt. The story follows an underworld figure who recruits people believed to possess extraordinary luck and forces them into high-stakes challenges where losing means death and each death enlarges the prize pot for the survivors. Shah has said he wrote the story around 2006.²

Filed on September 13, 2024, the complaint called Squid Game a “blatant rip-off” of Luck and its underlying screenplay. Shah alleged copying across plot, characters, themes, mood, setting, and sequence of events.³

The specific parallels laid out in the complaint included:

Desperate, indebted people lured by a mysterious figure into deadly competitions for money.
Contestants blindfolded and transported to an unknown location, then identified by numbers rather than names.
Wealthy spectators gambling on the outcomes, with each death raising the prize pool.
Protagonists who are gambling-prone men burdened by debt, living with widowed mothers, and carrying guilt over deceased fathers.
A powerful organizer described as a bored millionaire who stages the games to feel alive.
A shared red-and-black color palette and the use of children’s imagery to evoke innocence.⁴

Shah sought unspecified damages and an injunction that would have blocked Netflix from streaming or marketing Squid Game, profiting from related merchandise, or developing spin-offs including Squid Game: The Challenge.³

Netflix called the claim meritless, noted that Squid Game was created and written by Hwang Dong-hyuk, and said it would “defend this matter vigorously.”²

Why the Case Was Dismissed

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams granted Netflix’s motion to dismiss the entire case with prejudice, meaning Shah cannot refile it. The ruling rested on two independent grounds.¹

Shah Did Not Own the Copyright

The court held that Indian copyright law governs ownership of the film, and under that law the producer of a cinematograph film is its author and first owner. That producer was Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd., a Mumbai-based company that has since gone into liquidation. Judge Abrams ruled that Shah’s entitlement to royalties under India’s Copyright Act did not amount to an “exclusive right” of copyright ownership, which is what U.S. law requires before someone can bring an infringement claim. Shah therefore lacked standing.¹

The Two Works Are Not Substantially Similar

Even assuming Shah could sue, the court found the two works “not substantially similar.” Judge Abrams acknowledged the shared premise of indebted contestants in deadly games but held that this general concept is an unprotectable idea, a stock scenario known in copyright law as scène à faire. The opinion cited The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, Kaiji, and The Running Man as other works using the same basic premise, treating those elements as generic tropes rather than the creative property of any one author.⁵

Beyond the premise, the court found the “total concept and overall feel” of Luck and Squid Game “dramatically and drastically different.” Judge Abrams described Luck as a stylized Bollywood movie that is “substantially more upbeat, faster-paced and lighter in tone,” with musical sequences, romance, and a magical realism built around fate. She characterized Squid Game as a “dark and deeply unsettling” dystopian survival drama with subplots, such as a detective investigation, that have no counterpart in Luck. The games themselves also differ: Luck tests contestants’ good fortune, while Squid Game pits them against specific children’s games where failure is immediately fatal.¹

The available research does not indicate whether Shah has filed an appeal.

Earlier Plagiarism Accusations

Shah’s lawsuit was the first formal court action, but not the first public accusation. Shortly after Squid Game debuted in September 2021, viewers pointed to similarities with the 2014 Japanese film As the Gods Will, directed by Takashi Miike, which also features deadly children’s games. Hwang Dong-hyuk said at a press conference that he began writing his script in 2008 and 2009, before that film was released. “If I had to say it, I would say I did it first,” Hwang said.⁶

Comparisons have also been drawn to Battle Royale, The Hunger Games, Stephen King’s The Running Man, and various manga and anime titles. None of those comparisons produced litigation.⁷

Threatened Injury Claims From Squid Game: The Challenge

A separate dispute involves the reality spin-off, not the drama series. Contestants on Squid Game: The Challenge, filmed at Cardington Studios in Bedford, England, in early 2023, threatened to sue over injuries suffered during the recreation of the “Red Light, Green Light” sequence. Two unnamed contestants, represented by the British firm Express Solicitors, alleged hypothermia and nerve damage after being held in stress positions during frigid temperatures. One said the process lasted nearly seven hours. Letters of claim went to co-producer Studio Lambert in late 2023.⁸

A show spokesperson said at the time that “no lawsuit has been filed by any of the Squid Game contestants” and that welfare was taken “extremely seriously.” Netflix acknowledged the cold conditions but said contestants had been warned in advance and that staff distributed hand warmers and set up heated tented break areas. The UK’s Health and Safety Executive investigated, reminded producers to plan properly for risks, and took no further action.⁹¹⁰

The available research does not confirm whether a formal lawsuit was subsequently filed.

The SK Broadband Network-Cost Dispute

The show’s popularity also figured in a legal fight between Netflix and SK Broadband, a major South Korean internet provider. The underlying dispute began in 2020, but Squid Game amplified the stakes as Netflix traffic on the network jumped from roughly 50 gigabits per second in May 2018 to 1.2 terabits per second by September 2021.¹¹

SK Broadband argued Netflix should pay for the capacity its service consumed. Netflix said such payments would violate net neutrality. In mid-2021, a Seoul court sided with SK Broadband, ruling that Netflix was liable for network fees under South Korea’s Telecommunications Business Act. Both companies then filed additional suits against each other.¹¹

The fight ended on September 18, 2023, when SK Broadband, parent company SK Telecom, and Netflix withdrew all pending lawsuits and signed a strategic partnership that included bundled subscription offerings and collaboration on AI-based content recommendations. Financial terms were not disclosed, though local executives reportedly estimated the value at about 40 billion Korean won, or roughly $30 million.¹²¹¹

1
Justia. Shah v. Netflix, Inc. et al, Opinion and Order
2
Indian Express. Director Soham Shah Alleges Squid Game Plagiarised Film Luck
3
Claims Journal. Indian Filmmaker Sues Netflix Over Squid Game
4
U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. Shah v. Netflix, Complaint, Case 1:24-cv-06925-RA
5
The Hindu Business Line. Netflix Wins Dismissal of Squid Game Suit by Indian Filmmaker
6
Outlook India. Squid Game Director Addresses Allegations of Series Being Copied From a Japanese Film
7
MyNewsDesk. Creator of Netflix Sensation Squid Game Accused of Plagiarism
8
Deadline. Squid Game: The Challenge Contestants Threaten Injury Lawsuit
9
BBC. Squid Game: The Challenge Players Say They Suffered Injuries
10
NPR. Squid Game: The Challenge Players Say They Suffered Injuries While Filming
11
Light Reading. SK Broadband Improves Its Cash Position Through Netflix Agreement
12
Al Jazeera. South Korean Broadband Provider Announces End to Dispute With Netflix