A Chinese court has dismissed a plagiarism lawsuit from a writer accusing James Cameron of stealing the idea for Avatar from his novel.

Zhou Shaomou filed suit against the Oscar-winning director, alleging the plot from the sci-fi blockbuster too closely resembled the 1997 novel The Legend of the Blue Crow, which he published online. The suit was asking for $146 million in damages.

Officials at two courts in China reportedly refused to submit the breach of copyright case, and now Starpulse says a court in Beijing has dismissed the lawsuit citing a lack of evidence, according to the country’s Global Times newspaper.

The New York Times adds that a Chinese representative for 20th Century Fox, which released the film, told The Global Times that the story line for Avatar was first devised in 1995, two years before Mr. Zhou wrote his novel.