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Pair sues ABC over 'Million Dollar Idea' show

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 17:48 CDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The makers of a television show called "Million Dollar Idea" have sued ABC and several others, including "American Idol" star Simon Cowell, seeking to block broadcasts of a new show that they claim copies their own.

The suit says ABC, Cowell and FremantleMedia North America Inc are developing a program called "The Million Dollar Idea," that is nearly identical to "Million Dollar Idea" in which entrepreneurs compete for $1 million to make and market an original product.

"While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, imitation in the form of outright copying is not flattery at all -- it is intellectual property theft," the suit said.

The action was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by Roaring Entertainment Llc, Jean Golden and Todd Walker and seeks unspecified monetary damages along with barring the ABC show from the air.

An ABC spokesman was not immediately available to comment, and a FremantleMedia spokeswoman declined to comment saying she had not yet reviewed the lawsuit.

Cowell, U.K. businessman Peter Jones and FremantleMedia, which makes "American Idol" in the United States for the Fox TV network, approached ABC about "The Million Dollar Idea."

Golden and Walker have produced their "Million Dollar Idea" show for three seasons from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, and their show is now broadcast on over 125 TV stations across the United States.

Along with the title, the lawsuit claims "strong similarities" between the Golden and Walker show and the one outlined by ABC and FremantleMedia in July.

For instance, contestants in the Golden and Walker show initially compete for $50,000 in seed money to develop their idea. Contestants on the ABC show would do the same.

Contestants on both shows also pitch their products to a celebrity/inventor panel in front of a live audience.

Source: REUTERS

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