Archive > Glass House
CBS vs. ABC Lawsuit: The Glass House
HurricaneHowieWood:
ABC's filed Opposition To CBS's Injunction Can Be Read Here:
http://www-deadline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Filed-Redacted-TRO-Opposition__120612004111.pdf
HurricaneHowieWood:
What to Expect Next...
CBS will now file a respond to ABC's Opposition's
And Then CBS would hope to have the case heard by a Judge before the weekend.
We will keep you posted as this story evolves and head's toward a decision that could change the reality tv landscape.
ugot2bekidinmeny:
After seeing today's first live stream TRUST ME Big Brother has nothing to worry about with this Glass house concept! :lol3:
HurricaneHowieWood:
And the back and forth keeps going...
CBS throws another punch at ABC over 'Glass House'
by Lynette Rice
A federal judge has yet to decide whether to grant CBS’ request to block the premiere of ABC’s new reality show The Glass House, but that hasn’t stopped the two networks from continuing to quibble via court filings. The latest comes from CBS, which filed a reply brief today in response to ABC’s reply brief from yesterday (goodness!) over whether Glass House is a blatant copycat of Big Brother. For now, Glass House is still on schedule to debut June 18, unless CBS triumphs with its request for a temporary restraining order.
CBS’ basic beef is that Glass House, which has already assembled 14 contestants in a house outfitted with cameras and one-way mirrors, is too much like its long-running franchise Big Brother. CBS’ latest source of grief that was included in today’s filing: “Instead of disputing whether they are copying, (ABC) simply try to rationalize it, claiming that ‘when a successful reality show develops a good idea, other shows observe that idea and incorporate it into their own show.’ But CBS is not complaining about the copying of an idea. What defendants did here was entirely different: They had an extraordinary level of access to Big Brother, used it to produce Glass House, then lifted not just a few of Big Brother’s elements, but the entire protectable expression and compilation of them. And now, only after the fact, do defendants try to latch onto trivial rule changes, which are insignificant distinctions.”
And then, there’s this: “It simply does not do for defendants to caricature Big Brother as ‘people living in a house, competing with each other to avoid elimination, and winning a prize.’ That is as useful as saying that Sherlock Holmes lacks copyrightable expression because it is just ‘the idea of a detective and a sidekick, who live in London, and use disguises and forensic science to solve crimes.’”
And in response to ABC claims that the inner workings of Big Brother are readily available on the Internet: “Defendants’ attack on CBS’ trade secrets suffer from a fatal defect: If Big Brother’s materials are publicly available, and/or valueless ‘common sense,’ then why was it necessary for [executive producer Kenny] Rosen — who testifies of having ‘worked in television production for over 15 years’ and of ‘working my way up the ranks from Story Editor to Co-Executive Producer’ on Big Brother — to consult them, disclose them to his colleagues, and have them ‘typed up?’ The answer is obvious: Mr. Rosen did so because he believed the materials were valuable and he needed them to produce Glass House.“
There’s more, but you have to be catching the drift by now, right?
Meanwhile, all this back and forth has surely increased awareness of ABC’s new show. The Alphabet Network claims it’s already spent $16 million in promotional costs, but the amount of press generated by CBS’ legal claims has certainly done more for the show than any promo that airs during, say, The Bachelorette. And it’s not over yet. U.S. District Judge Gary Feess promised an expedited hearing, though no date has been set.
http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/06/12/cbs-throws-another-punch-at-abc-over-glass-house/
HurricaneHowieWood:
CBS Doubles Down on ABC Animosity Before Judge Rules on Glass House Restraining Order
Today 6:55 PM PDT by Natalie Finn
The people in Glass House are throwing stones, too!
ABC, as expected, resisted CBS' emergency petition for an injunction prohibiting the Alphabet Network from airing its upcoming reality series The Glass House.
And CBS, though a judge has not yet ruled on its request, is already firing back at ABC's resistance!
Sounds like fodder for a reality show, if you ask us.
"The clear theft and use of CBS' material, coupled with the admitted destruction of emails, clearly warrants a [temporary restraining order] at this stage," CBS attorneys state in a 28-page response filed today in U.S. District Court. "And ABC's protestations that injunctive relief would harm their business are of no moment because any harm is of their own making."
ABC, which claimed in its rebuttal filing barely 24 hours ago that it has already spent $16 million to market The Glass House ahead of its scheduled June 18 premiere, asked the court to deny CBS' TRO request, arguing that any claim of copyright infringement will not hold up.
"None of the alleged similarities shared by Big Brother and The Glass House involve copyright protectable elements—they are all generic staples of the reality show genre: people living in a house, competing with each other to avoid elimination, and winning a prize," ABC's lawyers wrote. "Nor is the sequence and arrangement of these unprotectable elements the same in Big Brother and The Glass House, foreclosing the possibility of infringement."
In its original lawsuit, CBS name checked 19 former producers, editors, et al. from Big Brother who now either work on The Glass House or at ABC; ABC denies that there was any conspiracy to steal Big Brother and CBS staffers away.
"There is no 'secret sauce' in Big Brother's production process," ABC replied.
CBS, meanwhile, begs to differ.
"Defendants offer a supposed parade of horribles if Glass House is not allowed to air," the litigious network argued in today's filing. "But Defendants miss the most important point: any harm to ABC is a direct result of ABC's own illegal conduct and so should not bar injunctive relief...Furthermore, the harm that ABC alleges—having its production stopped right before it airs—would undoubtedly be worsened if Glass House were pulled off television midseason, after the show began airing."
CBS originally sued ABC on May 10 for copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition.
A judge is expected to rule on CBS' TRO request by the end of the week.
.
http://www.eonline.com/news/cbs_doubles_down_on_abc_animosity/323027?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-tvnews&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_tvnews
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