Do not mess with music tv show royalties: the “X Factor” battle
The today #TBT is a reminder which bring us back to on March 30th, 2013, when the music reality-tv-show war ended.
The dispute, dates back a decade before, was between Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell.
It all started in 2004 in order to clarify some similarities between Fuller's American Idol and Cowell's UK show, The X Factor.
Fuller, British creator of Pop Idol and US version American Idol, sued Cowell as well as Fox and producers FremantleMedia, for copyright infringement, over claiming The X Factor copied the format of Fuller's show, Pop Idol - then American Idol - which was screened in the UK from 2001 to 2003.
Fuller demanded millions of dollars and credit before to settle the copyright battle.
Fuller began the lawsuit claiming that the Fox show failed to honor an agreement that would give him credit and a fee for the airing of the X Factor.
According to Fuller's lawsuit:
"Fox and Fremantle made hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to the creative efforts of Fuller," the suit stated. "Now, when it is time to finally perform on these unequivocal promises, Fox and Fremantle refuse to provide Fuller his executive producer credit for Defendants' new television show, The X Factor, and refuse to pay Fuller an executive producer fee' commensurate with his duties and stature in the entertainment industry.' Defendants refusal to honor their promises made to Fuller is particularly malicious given that but for Fuller's agreement, the X Factor show would not be able to broadcast in the United States at all."
The defendants returned fire by saying, "Mr. Fuller has not been hired, nor performed any duties, on the U.S. version of The X Factor. His suit seeks payment and credit as an executive producer despite his neither having been approved by the required parties, nor hired, as such."
