LOS ANGELES - CBS is unlikely to succeed in its efforts to win copyright infringement claims over rival network ABC's new show "The Glass House," a federal judge said Friday.
U.S. District Judge Gary Feess has refused to block "Glass House," which premiered Monday, and detailed his reasons in a 16-page ruling released Friday.
CBS wants to stop the show from airing, arguing it violates copyrights and trade secrets from its series "Big Brother." Feess, however, noted the unpredictable nature of reality television and said the genre does not generally include plot or other expressions of ideas that are subject to copyright protection. Ideas alone cannot be protected by copyright, and courts must consider how the ideas are expressed when disputes arise.
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Both shows employ dozens of cameras to check in on a houseful of contestants vying for a cash prize, but Feess ruled the shows are likely to play out very differently.