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ABC Settles Lawsuit With Japanese Company Over 'Wipeout'

Posted byBy Stan Castle | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

ABC has settled a lawsuit with a Japanese television network and a reality TV production company over “Wipeout”. The company claimed that the American series copied off of some of its Japanese game shows.

The Tokyo Broadcasting System(TBS) filed the suit in late 2008, claiming that the games on ABC’s show resembled several Japanese shows including “Takeshi’s Castle” and “Ninja Warrior.”

TBS also sued Dutch entertainment company Endemol, which produces “Wipeout” and a bunch of other reality shows.

Takeshi’s Castle was a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1989 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It featured the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who owns a castle and sets up impossible challenges for players (or a volunteer army) to get to him. The show has become a cult television hit around the world.[1] A special live “revival” was broadcast on April 2, 2005, for TBS’s 50th anniversary celebrations(Wiki).

Ninja Warrior is a Japanese sports entertainment television special in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four stage obstacle course. It is screened in at least 18 other countries and shot on location at Midoriyama, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, and airs on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) between Japanese television drama seasons(Wiki).

ABC settled the case on Nov. 30.  The terms were filed with the court.

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