fight between Live PD and On patrol: Alive Producer Big Fish Entertainment and A&E Television Network are hot.
Amazon/MGM-owned Big Fish responded to a lawsuit filed by the cable network group in August, calling it “unmerited” and citing reasons why it should not be sued in the Southern District of New York in the U.S. The case was dismissed in the district court. .
The spice line is whether On patrol: AliveWhich became a ratings success for Reels, was a “clone”. Live PDwhich was canceled by A&E in June 2020 following the killing of George Floyd.
“In 2020, A&E decided to cancel the show, mistakenly believing that public interest in live-action police shows had waned. After A&E rejected Big Fish’s attempt to reboot it Live PD In A&E, Big Fish moved on and thrived On patrol: Alivefinally dealt with Rayles,” the motion notes (read here).
“Later On patrol: Alive An instant hit on Reels, debuting as the #1 cable show in the 25-54 demographic, A&E’s decision seemed short-sighted and foolish. To save face, A&E is now trying to get the court to take profits from the show it didn’t want, but there is no viable claim under copyright, trademark, or unfair competition laws,” It added.
In the August filing, the Hearst- and Disney-backed company used phrases like “blatant theft” and “blatant infringement.”
However, Big Fish says A&E isn’t claiming that its new show “copies a single original element.” Live PDGiven that Big Fish calls the elements that A&E is known for “no more than the unguarded stock features of shows with cop rides, and often news programming in general.”
Some of the areas that A&E took issue with include the fact that the show “toggles” between live and pre-packaged footage, opens with “bumpy, fast music” and the “Wanted” and “Disappearance” segments. Included, all things that Big Fish points out are “commonly found on reality television shows” and thus are not protectable.
A sweet irony is that A&E seems to be arguing against a case that it won itself marriage at first sight, Where Yaina Williams sparked outrage over the creation of a marriage format, a case that was thrown out by a judge in 2015.
“A&E also knew when it started working with Big Fish that the format of an unconventional TV show about a cop being chased on patrol was far from original; since then the police First released in 1989, there have been dozens of unscripted shows following police and other first responders,” notes Motion.
Therefore, Big Fish claims, A&E included in its original contract the fact that the company could not exhibit “substantial similarity in content or form.” Live PD After a year for a different network Live PDs cancellation On patrol: Alive It came two years later.
“A&E is free to air another live cop show. A&E is also free to rerun old ones Live PD Episodes though, A&E is not free to skirt copyright and trademark laws Live PDs The creators didn’t take their talents elsewhere, after A&E turned their backs on them, only to regret the choice. The A&E case should be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice,” the plaintiffs wrote.
