Japanese TV network sues ABC over “Wipeout”
October 8th, 2008 by James
ABC, the American TV network that airs Wipeout, a wacky obstacle course show that copies similar Japanese shows, is being sued by Japanese TV network TBS:
ABC premiered “Wipeout” in June, and its success in the ratings has earned it a renewal for another season. The show puts contestants through a challenging obstacle course, similar to TBS shows such as “Takeshi’s Castle” in the ’80s and the still-running “SASUKE.”
Indeed, TBS claims that the show is too similar, citing infringement in several aspects, including specific obstacles, the show’s format, scene setups, and dialogue. The lawsuit also accuses ABC of capitalizing on search terms such as “MXC,” which is Spike TV’s licensed version of “Takeshi’s Castle.”
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nothing new, copycat is illegal anyway.
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copying dialogue? the shows here are in english??? the show there is in japanese??? anyway – if you want to talk about copying…….there is enough here to keep lawyers busy in numerous countries. hey -how about them doctor shows here? a rip off of ER? Chicago Hope?
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I always wondered if Japanese variety shows hold licenses to some of the background music they use for their productions. I’ve heard pieces from the Matrix, Backdraft (the whole iron chef show used the soundtrack from Backdraft), etc.
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Probably, yes, as these soundtracks also have a license holder in Japan and it’s easy and cheap to acquire the license for this type of music to be used as background music.
It’s much harder and much, much, more expensive to actually license an entire TV show or film
(I am in the licensing business, so I do know what I am talking about).
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I used to work for these kind of job.
the TV station is responsible for applying to JASRAC for permission to use, and they’re paying the fees.
And JASRAC pays money to the copyright holder.
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You know, when I saw the initial trailer for Wipeout, I immediately thought of Takeshi’s Castle. Mostly because of the spinning platform (which they only showed for the first time last week), and … something else that I don’t remember.
I don’t think the SASUKE infringement can be warranted, both for a technical reasons (falling isn’t elimination, best times and 1 winner vs. time limit and any possible number of winners, even if that’s not how it ends up), and the second that the courses are really on opposite ends of the spectrum in feasibility. Takeshi’s Castle is of course a different story just because the
If TBS can sue ABC for Wipeout, they can sue NBC for American Gladiators (read: eliminator).
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I had always assumed they gotten permission from TBS because it looked so much like SASUKE and Takeshi-jo. The last stage especially looks very similar to SASUKE (though as Jason noted the elimination format differs slightly). But from a purely visual perspective, it’s almost like they ripped off SASUKE entirely.
There are a few games in the preliminary rounds that do resemble the old Takeshi-jo series.
I don’t think the American Gladiators comparison applies in that they are complaining that both the format and visual similarities are so common. Again I thought they had licensed SASUKE and Takeshi-jo because they looked very similar. It is also 0% likely that they producers just happened to think up a show that looked so similar on their own.
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On a totally side note, I wonder if that other show “Hole in the Wall” is licensed? I saw one episode and I thought it lost a lot of the entertainment value the Japanese version had. At least the Russian version had hot chicks!
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I’ve always wondered what the actual Japanese dialogue was like in Takeshi’s Castle before it was overdubbed in the US. I love the humor in the American version, but I can only guess at what sort of crazy stuff they were saying and laughing over in the original Japanese. Does anyone know if it’s even remotely close or completely 110% different but still whacky?
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Many Jpop, Jrap, and Jrocker plagiarize ideas from American singers, so should America sue? Why are English words and song titles featured in Jmusic when the singer is not even fluent in English?
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Well it is going to be interesting if TBS wins it’s lawsuit against ABC. I have to admit there are a lot of similarities between MXC Takeshi’s Castle & Susuke to some degree. ABC apparently bought the search term MXC & which directed google search to their wipeout page. The California courts apparently at least right now seem to be in support of TBS. They are dismissing ABC’s claim and allowing TBS to pressure forward. I personally am not a big fan of wipeout as much prefer Sasuke but ABC should really have been a little more original. With Ninja Warrior and to a lesser extent MXC being so popular here. It was stupid to think there wouldn’t have been comparisons made.
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