Woman Who Claimed Ownership Of 'Biggest Loser' Idea Declared A Loser By The Courts
from the so-sorry dept
It seems that every time there's a really successful book, movie or TV show that comes along, someone else comes along and claims that it was really their idea, and demands cash for it. Of course, in almost every one of these cases, they don't seem to realize that lots of people had the same idea, and there's a huge difference between idea and execution. Instead, they assume that only they could have had the idea, and anything similar -- which involved actual successful execution -- must owe them money. Thankfully, the courts are generally pretty good about tossing these cases out. The latest involves someone who claims she came up with the idea for the reality TV show The Biggest Loser which she called Phat Farm. The legal process hasn't been kind to her. One court pointed out that she never actually registered for a copyright on the Phat Farm treatment, and now another court has noted that there really aren't that many similarities between the ideas. Another case dismissed.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: biggest loser, execution, ideas
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"See everyone, Mike is in favor of theft. He wants it to be legal for anyone to go into your house and steal your furniture, money, and jewelery."
No, that's not what Mike is saying. He's saying that, just because someone thought of an idea doesn't mean that they should be able to stop other people from using the same idea, especially when others likely came up with the idea independently.
Now hopefully we don't have to deal with this argument later on, at least not in this thread.
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Sent from my Windows Mobile Phone 7!
Order WinMo7 now, and get a Samsung Microwave Oven and the 5-volume Low-fat "Modernist Cuisine" Cookbook by author Nathan Myhrvold!
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But...
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And there's no way she was inspired by...
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Keep in mind, however, that every once in a while a meritorious case is presented and prevails. A case here in Orlando a few years back was one such case. Disney was pitched an idea in confidence, rejected the idea, and then later announced a new project modeled precisely on the confidential pitch.
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Jillian Michaels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eNq7XlVtfU
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