Police Claim that NBC's "Stars Earn Stripes" Was Stolen, Judge Says...

Rejecting a motion to dismiss, the judge says he can't conclude at this stage that the military-themed reality TV show isn't substantially similar to the plaintiff's own pitch.

A lawsuit brought by a former New York police detective that alleges that NBC's Stars Earn Stripes was stolen is moving to the next round.

Richard Dillon, who worked for the NYPD for 20 years and has been a consultant on TV shows, brought the lawsuit last November. He came up with an idea for a reality TV show that pitted celebrity contestants against one another in competitive events designed to mimic the training received by Navy SEALs. Among those he's suing for taking his WGA-registered treatment is NBCUniversal and series producers Dick Wolf and Mark Burnett.

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.
More times than not, federal judges will dismiss idea theft claims because the bar for substantial similarity is high. 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.

Read Full Ruling ...  http://www.scribd.com/doc/149054496/Stars-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. 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 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."

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. He's now a co-defendant in this lawsuit.

Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/judge-allows-cops-claim-nbcs-572628

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