Reality Television And The Limitations Of Copyright 

Great article today in the Huffington Post written by David Ginsburg - here's a blurb in case you didn't see it...

Recent weeks have seen much entertainment industry and legal attention to an aggressive dispute between two networks over a pair of "reality" television shows. CBS has broadcast Big Brother in the United States since 2000, and it got wind of a prospective but as-yet uncompleted show entitled The Glass House it believed ABC was developing for a June 18, 2012 debut. In general, both shows involve a group of people living together in a house, sequestered from the outside world, continuously monitored by numerous television cameras, and on both shows contestants are eliminated over a respective season until there is a prize winner. To Read more click link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-r-ginsburg/glass-house-lawsuit_b_1622293.html

My thoughts are that I totally agree, you can not copyright an idea in reality. There have been so many knock off's of knock off's that one idea gives light to another and so on. That is what has made reality REALITY! For every idea that we take out into the marketplace there have been 3-5 others that have pitched - that same idea - only yours might be slightly different. My connections and my timing might also might be different as well. 

I think that ideas are a dime a dozen and it seems to me that CBS approach should have been different. What if they were flattered that the idea was a spin off and similar from theirs? What if they went on with the attitude that "we have created so many hits in the past, present and our future is going to be even better!" Let Glass House try and have a run. I think that anything that gets on the air these days is lucky. Its hard to sell and get things green lit! Lets change that focus and work on future stuff that has the potential to be the next "Survivor," or "Glass House," vs. taking people to court. Let's make this genre even better than it is.

What are your thoughts about David's article in the Huffington Post today?  I'd love to hear your thoughts...