The network moved ahead with its lawsuit against ABC this week by amending its filing that alleges ABC copied elements of Big Brother for its new reality TV competition series The Glass House.
On Tuesday, CBS was denied its request for a fast discovery process in the network’s lawsuit against ABC’s The Glass House. This comes less than a week after a District Court judge in the case refused CBS’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop production and broadcasting of the show, which debuted on June 18 as planned.
U.S. District Judge Gary Feess has refused CBS’s request to block ABC’s new Glass House, which premiered Monday, and detailed his reasons in a 16-page ruling released Friday. CBS says it will continue to pursue the case and is seeking additional evidence from ABC and Glass House producers.
CBS hasn’t been able to get a judge to block ABC from airing The Glass House, a new reality show with more than a few similarities to the long-running Big Brother, so now it’s working on winning over the public and the press with humor.
Exclusives
CBS Restraining Order Against ABC Denied
ABC scored a victory — at least for now — in the lawsuit over its upcoming reality series Glass House. U.S. District Judge Gary Feess on Friday morning temporarily denied CBS’s request for a temporary restraining order against the series, which is scheduled to premiere Jan. 18.
Attorneys for ABC and CBS will appear this morning before U.S. District Judge Gary Feess to argue whetherABC’s new The Glass House should premiere as planned on Monday night, or be bumped from the schedule over copyright and trade secret concerns.
U.S. District Judge Gary Feess scheduled arguments for Friday morning, just days before ABC’s Glass House is scheduled to premiere on Monday night. CBS wants the show knocked from airwaves because it claims the new series violates its Big Brother copyrights.
On Tuesday, CBS submitted a new court filing that portrays its legal adversary of being short on the merits and inconsistent in making the case that Glass House isn’t a copycat of CBS’s long-running hit Big Brother.
ABC has fired back at CBS in the fight over the Big Brother-like reality show The Glass House, filing an opposition to CBS’s request for a temporary restraining order Monday night.
CBS included new allegations in a filing Thursday that asks a federal judge to block the June 18 premiere of ABC’s The Glass House. CBS claims the series copies heavily from its hit show Big Brother and relies on experience and techniques used on that long-running series.
The striking similarities between ABC’s recently announced summer reality series Glass House and CBS’ veteran Big Brother were not lost on CBS brass. Four days after ABC’s Glass House announcement, CBS has fired off a letter to ABC warning it that proceeding with the show will likely result in legal action.
In the vein of CBS’s Big Brother, the summer competition series launches June 18.
