6:58 p.m. | Updated CBS followed up on its threat against ABC with a lawsuit asking the court to block a proposed ABC series called “Glass House” because of its similarities to the long-running CBS summer series “Big Brother.”
The suit, which CBS filed Thursday in Federal District Court in Los Angeles, seeks a long list of actions against ABC, its affiliated stations and the producers of “Glass House,” culminating in a declaratory judgment from the court that would presumably keep the show from going forward.
CBS argues that the ABC show represents copyright infringement and that the producers, most of whom previously worked on “Big Brother,” are violating nondisclosure agreements they signed when they left that series.
CBS also is demanding legal fees and $500,000 for each violation of those agreements by the producers.
The suit also accused ABC and the producers of trade-secret misappropriation, breach of contract and conspiracy.
This case involves “Glass House,” a show in which 14 people will live in a house all summer with cameras on them; each contestant’s goal is to be the final one standing and win a cash prize — all elements of the “Big Brother” competition. “Glass House” is set to have its debut on ABC on June 18.
In a statement, ABC said that CBS’s lawsuit had no merit. “The differences between ‘Glass House’ and ‘Big Brother’ are both fundamental and obvious, ranging from ‘Glass House’’s interactive elements and audience participation to its deployment of cutting-edge technologies,” the statement reads.
Suits trying to stop copycat reality shows from being produced have been consistently rejected by courts in the past, largely because even small variations in format can be defended as a different reality.
The inclusion of producers who left the series that was being copied, and who signed agreements not to disclose the secrets of that show, give this lawsuit a somewhat different wrinkle.