A judge has declined to dismiss MTV‘s lawsuit against Zeus Network over similarities between Wild 'n Out and Nick Cannon‘s new show Bad vs. Wild.
Judge Arun Subramanian ruled on Monday (March 30) that MTV made a strong enough argument that would necessitate moving the case into discovery, with a trial on the horizon, according to court documents reviewed by Complex. While Subramanian conceded Bad vs. Wild may be in violation of trademark law because the name and logo are similar to Wild 'n Out, MTV’s then-owner Viacom must now provide sufficient evidence to support that accusation.
Viacom also accused Zeus Network of illegally “cosplaying” Bad vs. Wild as a sequel to Wild 'n Out, which included landing Cannon to host.
“In an era where original content is at a premium, Zeus has chosen the path of least resistance: stealing the fruits of Viacom’s goodwill and decades of labor and innovation, and pawning it off as its own original idea for its own financial gain,” lawyers for Viacom wrote in the suit.
In his dismissal of Viacom’s copyright infringement claim, Subramanian said, “Many reality shows … would be liable for copyright infringement, as they often recruit the same individuals, place them in similar scenarios, and have similar pacing and themes.”
“There is a reason that Viacom can only point to a single case for support; if thematic similarities sufficed for a copyright-infringement claim, it would make the development of new television shows much more difficult,” the judge added.
Even though Cannon seemingly finds himself at the crux of this dispute, he was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
