New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- The Screenwriters Association has cleared actor Sayani Gupta of alleged copyright infringement in her directorial debut short film Aasmani. Filmmaker Vinita Negi claimed Gupta had borrowed scenes from her unfinished documentary. One consequence: Gupta's film was withdrawn from the Indian Film Festival of New Zealand in August.

Experts say plagiarism rows are a complicated deal in the movie business. To claim that a work has been plagiarized, the claimant must provide evidence of substantial similarity, including early drafts of the script, minutes of meetings in case the script was discussed, and records to establish that the claimant was the first to publish.

On the other hand, the commercial consequences of a dis...