Turning the tables.An "American Idol American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the British reality program Pop Idol. fan" that sued the show for allegedly stealing his idea for an online fantasy game is now facing a countersuit coun·ter·sue tr.v. coun·ter·sued, coun·ter·su·ing, coun·ter·sues Law To bring proceedings against (a plaintiff) in direct opposition to a suit brought against onself. . Fremantle Media North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and American Idol Productions Inc. have filed suit against Adam Pick, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition and interference with contract, among other grievances. The companies claim in excess of $500,000 in damages and are requesting punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. as well. Pick filed a suit against Fremantle, American Idol and Fox Television Stations The Fox Television Stations (FTS) are a group of television stations located throughout the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company. FTS also produces the Fox program COPS. in May. His allegations included breach of implied contract implied contract n. an agreement which is found to exist based on the circumstances when to deny a contract would be unfair and/or result in unjust enrichment to one of the parties. An implied contract is distinguished from an "express contract. and fraud. "I'm shocked," said Pick, who is recovering from open-heart surgery. "First, American Idol stole my ideas. Now they have sued me." Pick created and developed a Web site that featured an interactive fantasy game in which "Idol" fans, acting as judges, could select the next contestant to be eliminated from the show. He claims that he met with "Idol" producers about his ideas and was rebuffed, so he decided to launch his own site. The network later demanded his site be shut down and created a fantasy game similar to his on its "Idol" site, Pick claims. American Idol Productions declined to comment, but Pick's lawyer had plenty to say. "There are a number of fans operating "American Idol' Web sites who I suspect will be quite surprised and unhappy when they learn what the owners of 'American Idol' have done," Jeff Valle said. He also called the show's failure to allege independent creation of the fantasy game "very telling." |
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