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By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
April 28, 2006

Copyright Infringement/Television Series

The defendant's TV series about the experiences of young actors didn't infringe on the plaintiff's film about actor auditions, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled. Quaglia v. Bravo Networks, 04-10460-RWZ. Plaintiff Frank Quaglia had pitched his film 'The Ultimate Audition' to the Bravo Network, which rejected the project. Quaglia later filed suit over the Bravo series 'The It Factor,' about young actors in New York City. The district court noted: '[P]laintiff had difficulty identifying precisely what copyrightable material ' other than his idea ' had allegedly been stolen from him. ' Indeed, although plaintiff recognized that ideas are not copyrightable, he nevertheless found himself asserting that defendants had stolen his 'ideas.' ' Given plaintiffs own, repeated characterization of the allegedly stolen material as an idea, it is doubtful that he could prevail on [ownership of a valid copyright].'

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