Disney successfully proved themselves “an innocent warrior” in a copyright case against a writer who claimed they lifted the Moana screenplay from his work.

After a two-week trial, Disney was cleared of the charge brought by writer Buck Woodall, who claimed that Disney based the Polynesian princess film Moana on his original work Bucky the Wave Warrior.

Woodall alleged that, in 2004, he pitched the project to a family member who was an assistant at a live-action production company on the Disney lot. The relative later asked Walt Disney Animation Studios if it would take a submission, and learned that it would not.

The case was filed in Los Angeles in 2020, and Monday, the eight-member jury found unanimously that Disney did not have access to the 2011 screenplay or earlier treatments. The jury deliberated for less than three hours.

As the jury determined that Disney had no access to Woodall’s script, it was not necessary to compare the two works looking for similarities, though Disney’s lawyers did have a long list of ways the two works were not alike.

Moana was released in 2016, with the screenplay credited to Jared Bush from a story by Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Williams, Don Hall, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, and Jordan Kandell The film has made more than $687 million in box office receipts thus far, and has spawned a sequel.

A Disney spokesperson said, “We are incredibly proud of the collective work that went into the making of Moana and are pleased that the jury found it had nothing to do with Plaintiff’s works.”

Woodall’s lawyer said he was “disappointed” and would consider his client’s options going forward. He still has a case pending against Disney alleging the sequel, Moana 2, is also an infringement on his work.