A low-budget anti-Muslim film that sparked violence in the Middle East and death threats to the actors involved was compared with the likes of Titanic and The Lord of the Rings in a federal appeals court.

An actress suing the producer of an anti-Islam movie that has spawned violent protests across the Muslim world plans to drop her lawsuit and file a new case in federal court over copyright claims, her lawyer said.

A US judge has rejected a request to force YouTube to remove an anti-Muslim film trailer that has been blamed for causing deadly violence in the Middle East.