According to the indictment Paramount bought the exclusive movie rights to the article from Ehud Yonay in the 1980s, and is therefore also listed in the ending credit of “Top Gun”, via “suggested by”† But: the Yonay family re-acquired the copyright to the magazine piece in early 2020, after the death of Ehud Yonay in 2012.
His widow and son took steps to regain the rights to the magazine article in 2018, and they also notified Paramount that they would do so. Under Section 2013 of the US Copyright Act, copyright transfers may be reversed upon request after 35 years. The Yonay family submitted that request in 2018, and that procedure was completed in 2020.
At that time, the production of the second “Top Gun” film was already in full swing. “Top Gun: Maverick”: should have hit theaters in the summer of 2020, but the release was postponed due to the corona crisis. Also some spectacular action scenes had to be re-canned.
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