Chinese writer sues 20th Century Fox

The movie giant 20th Century Fox and five Chinese companies are sued by a Chinese science fiction writer for stilling his idea and using it in the “The Day after Tomorrow” movie, state media said Wednesday.

Li Jianmin, 43, filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox over alleged copyright infringement, saying the film copied the "creative conception and plots" of two stage plays he had written in 2001 and 2002, the Xinhua News Agency said.

The apocalyptic blockbuster depicts a world in which global warming triggers a cascade of events that practically flash-freeze the planet.

Li said 308 scenes in the film were described in his plays, the report said. The film's director Roland Emmerich and five Chinese companies that imported, distributed and screened the movie were also named in the suit.

The first hearing of Li's case took place Wednesday, in the same week the United States filed a pair of complaints against Beijing in the World Trade Organization this week over product piracy and market access.

The case was being heard at the Intermediate People's Court of Dongying, in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, the report said.