A federal judge in New York said he was unlikely to block the premiere of an ABC reality show that CBS claims is a rip-off of its "Big Brother" series.
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U.S. District Judge Gary Feess presided at a hearing on the request Friday. He said he was "not likely" to grant CBS' motion but agreed to mull it further before issuing a written ruling, E! Online said.
"I don't think the copyright argument is very strong," Feess said. "CBS has not persuaded me with either claim."
Despite the alleged similarities between the two shows, Feess said he did not believe "Big Brother" would lose its audience to ABC. He said the proliferation of reality shows made it difficult to argue "Big Brother" contained any exclusive trade secrets.
Entertainment Weekly said CBS vowed to continue pursuing its case and would also "move forward with our individual claims for liability and liquidated damages against any current 'The Glass House' producer who violated their Big Brother confidentiality agreement."