Sirens appear to be flashing around an attempt to revive one of the biggest law-enforcement reality series launched in recent years.
A New York judge has denied a motion to dismiss a copyright suit against the producers of a successor program to the once-popular series Live PD, ruling that A+E Networks, the shows original distributor, may continue in its quest to seek claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition against the Reelz cable networks show, On Patrol: Live.
A wise man once observed, If you cant imitate him, dont copy him, wrote Katharine Polk Failla, a judge hearing the case in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. The fine line between permissible imitation and wholesale duplication is at the heart of this lawsuit.
A+E filed the original suit in August of last year, alleging that Big Fish Entertainment, the original producer of Live PD, created a copycat version of the series and launched it on Reelz utilizing the same hosts, format and segments.
The original Live PD, launched on the AE cable network in 2016, captured attention by having producers scan 32 live feeds from across the nation, each one focused on a cop trying to do his or her job. Producers would then select the most compelling real-life incidents and put them on the air as host Dan Abrams kept up commentary and analysis with a group of regular co-anchors.
Judge Failla found that the original production contract signed between A+E and Big Fish assigned all rights to Live PD to the TV company. Plaintiff holds exclusive, 100% ownership in all rights to the Live PD series (including originally shot footage, newly created elements, format, and title) in perpetuity,
including any copyrights and trademarks held in connection therewith, the judge said in her decision. Conversely, the Series Agreement provides that Big Fish Entertainment assigns to Plaintiff any and all of its rights and any and all of its title or interest in the Live PD series in perpetuity. The Series Agreement further prohibits Big Fish from authorizing the telecast of any program produced by Big Fish substantially similar in content and format to Live PD for a one-year period without Plaintiffs prior written consent.
Live PD was taken off of A+E in 2020 in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd. In that same year, it was discovered that Live PD had destroyed footage related to a police killing a year prior of Javier Ambler.