IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT NEWS: Digital creator sues Netflix for copyright infringement of interview featured in true crime documentary, (Aug 20, 2025)

By Saurabh Kashyap, B.A., M.A., LL.B., LL.M.

Complaint seeks injunction and damages over Netflix’s alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted interview footage in Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer.

A Bronx-based digital content creator has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Netflix, Inc., Story Syndicate LLC, and Archer Gray Productions LLC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that the defendants reproduced, publicly displayed, and distributed segments of the plaintiff’s copyrighted interview with serial killer Rex Heuermann without authorization by including them in the documentary Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. The complaint seeks preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, damages exceeding $120,000, the defendants’ profits derived from the alleged infringement, an accounting, delivery up and destruction of infringing materials, and other relief under the Copyright Act (Amira v. Netflix, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-06836-AKH (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 19, 2025)).

The plaintiff, Antoine Amira, is the creator of two video series titled Lunchtime and L’Interview by Antoine, published on his YouTube channel Bonjour Realty. His work includes interviews with a range of individuals, including professionals from the New York real estate industry and cultural figures from the city. Amira has appeared on CBS New York, the Banfield Show on NewsNation, and Dateline. The defendants include Netflix, Inc., a Delaware corporation with a principal place of business in California, which distributes the documentary Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer; Story Syndicate LLC, a New York limited liability company engaged in producing the documentary; and Archer Gray Productions LLC, also a New York limited liability company, which likewise produced the documentary.

The subject of the lawsuit is a video interview conducted by Amira on February 6, 2022, with Rex Heuermann, a New York-based architect who was arrested in 2023 in connection with the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Amira alleges that the interview is the only known video in which Heuermann speaks openly about his personal and professional life. The interview was recorded and published as part of Amira’s L’Interview by Antoine series. According to the complaint, the work is wholly original and owned exclusively by Amira. The U.S. Copyright Office issued Registration No. PA 2-542-789 for the interview on July 31, 2025. Amira alleges that the interview has received considerable public interest and that several major networks and production companies—including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NewsNation, and others—have lawfully licensed the footage from him.

The complaint states that the documentary Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer includes three segments copied directly from Amira's copyrighted interview. These segments appear in Episode 3 of the series at approximate timestamps 17:00–17:23, 17:51–18:09, and 28:02–28:10. Amira alleges that these are exact reproductions of his copyrighted work. The defendants did not seek permission or obtain a license to use the material and did not compensate Amira. The complaint states that Netflix has made the documentary available for streaming in the United States and internationally and remains available with the allegedly infringing content.

Amira further alleges that he contacted Story Syndicate by phone on April 10, 2025, and sent an invoice the same day to Netflix’s Chief Legal Officer, David Hyman. The complaint includes a copy of this invoice as an exhibit. According to the filing, the plaintiff received no response from any of the defendants.

The complaint brings a single cause of action for federal copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501. It alleges that the defendants copied and exploited Amira’s copyrighted work without his knowledge, authorization, or consent. Amira contends that this conduct was willful and undertaken with disregard for his rights. He further claims that the defendants have profited from their exploitation of the copyrighted material while avoiding license fees and the conditions that he would have placed on any use of his work.

The relief sought includes a permanent injunction barring the defendants and their affiliates from reproducing, displaying, distributing, or otherwise exploiting the copyrighted work or any derivative materials. Amira also seeks an accounting of the defendants' profits attributable to the alleged infringement, an order for the destruction or delivery of all infringing copies and related materials, and a recall of any such materials in distribution. In addition to actual and statutory damages, Amira requests interest, attorneys' fees, and costs. The plaintiff demands a jury trial on all issues so triable.

The Case is No. 1:25-cv-06836-AKH.

Judge: Hellerstein, A.

Attorneys: Armin Ghiam (Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP) for Antoine Amira.

Companies: Netflix, Inc.; Story Syndicate LLC; Archer Gray Productions LLC

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