The series is based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and produced by Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. “This is especially true in light of the high degree of access alleged by Plaintiff-that Plaintiff and Moss provided a copy of the Treatment to Hurwitz.The first season of the American superhero television series Superman & Lois aired on The CW from February 23, 2021, with a two-hour event, and finished on August 17, 2021. “Viewing the protectable elements of the works as a whole, the Court cannot conclude that theyĪre not substantially similar on the pleadings,” writes the judge. And analyzing the characters, the judge writes how the “proposed celebrity contestants is uncannily similar to the contestants chosen to participate in the Program” - including a member of the boys group 99 Degrees, WWE professional wrestling stars, a Dancing with the Stars host and a retired SEAL turned politician. Looking at the plot, the judge notes the similarity of military-themed missions and tasks in both. To do this, the judge has to look past the non-protectable elements including generic ideas like a host, celebrity contestants, contestants living in close proximity with one another, etc.Įxamining the mood, the judge notes there’s reverential treatment given to men and women of the armed services in both works. The judge writes, “Construing the allegations of the First Amended Complaint liberally in favor of Plaintiff, it is reasonable to infer that Hurwitz shared the Treatment with Burnett and Wolf, as it is alleged that they worked together on the Program.”Īs such, Judge Otero must then consider whether the treatment for “Celebrity SEALs” and the TV show, Stars Earn Stripes, is similar enough that it could plausibly support a claim for copyright infringement. In reviewing whether Burnett and Wolf deserve to be part of the case too, Judge Otero says yes. More e-mails bounced around and by the end of that month, Hurwitz said he was too busy working on Fear Factor to “do right by you.” Hurwitz wished them luck. In August, 2011, a conference call was held and Hurwitz praised Dillon’s idea for “Celebrity SEALs.” Later, Hurwitz would e-mail Moss and stated, “I look forward to reading the treatment and seeing if we can’t make something happen.” They were referred to David Hurwitz, a producer of reality TV whose previous work includes Fear Factor and who would later be credited with co-creating Stars Earn Stripes. In this case, according to allegations laid out by Judge Otero, Dillon and a co-creator named Jonathan Moss began contacting television producers about their idea. So it’s fairly notable anytime a judge takes the time in a theft case to write a detailed ruling that denies a motion by a major entertainment studio. More times than not, federal judges will dismiss idea theft claims because the bar for substantial similarity is high. The defendants in the lawsuit urged California federal judge James Otero to dismiss various claims on the ground that they had insufficient access to Dillon’s treatment and that the material wasn’t sufficiently similar to Stars Earn Stripes, but in a ruling on Tuesday, the judge finds enough in the allegations to largely leave the lawsuit intact.
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