(Reuters) - A&E Television Networks LLC told a Manhattan federal court in a lawsuit Tuesday that ReelzChannel LLC's reality police show "On Patrol: Live" is a "clone" of A&E's former hit show "Live PD" that violates its intellectual property rights.
Reelz and Big Fish Entertainment LLC infringed A&E's copyrights and trademarks by reviving "Live PD" with the same format and hosts under a new name, A&E's lawsuit said.
A representative for Reelz said the company had not yet received the complaint and had no comment "beyond denying liability and expressing its ongoing commitment to 'On Patrol: Live.'"
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A&E, a joint venture between Walt Disney Co and Hearst Communications Inc, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"Live PD" was one of A&E's highest-rated shows when it aired between 2016 and 2020. The show stopped production that year in the wake of protests against police brutality and media reports that the show destroyed footage of the 2019 death of Javier Ambler in police custody in Texas.
A&E said in the lawsuit that it kept the show's IP rights after the cancellation.
According to A&E, Reelz, Big Fish and others associated with "Live PD" began a "multimedia blitz" in May to misleadingly advertise that they were "bringing back" the show. A&E said Reelz and Big Fish ignored A&E's cease-and-desist letters, other than to change the name of the new show from "PD Live" to "On Patrol: Live."
"On Patrol: Live" began airing in July and has "single handedly drawn millions of viewers" to Hubbard Broadcasting Inc-owned Reelz, according to the lawsuit. A&E said the show infringes its copyrights and trademarks, and that its similarities to "Live PD" are "striking, innumerable, and readily apparent."
The case is A&E Television Networks LLC v. Big Fish Entertainment LLC, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:22-cv-07411.
For A&E: David Yohai of Weil, Gotshal & Manges
For Reelz and Big Fish: Not available
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