ABC Is Accused of Stealing Idea

Two Minnesota television producers want Simon Cowell, whose brutal commentary on “American Idol” has earned him the nickname Judge Dread, to face his own judgment day.

On Wednesday, the producers sued Cowell, FremantleMedia North America, which produces “American Idol,” and the ABC television network in federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that the TV heavyweights stole their idea for a reality show that chronicles the behind-the-scenes stories of would-be inventors.

The producers, Jean Golden and Todd Walker, claim that they pitched their show, called “Million Dollar Idea,” to a top ABC programming executive in 2004. The executive, Andrea Wong, told them their idea -- which was already on the air at a local Minneapolis TV station -- was interesting, the suit alleges. But ABC took a pass.

Then last month, ABC announced that it had ordered nine episodes of a show with the working title “The Million Dollar Idea.” In a news release, the network said the show -- in which inventors would compete for $50,000 seed money and a $1-million grand prize -- was a partnership with Cowell and FremantleMedia.

Golden and Walker learned about ABC’s plans for that show in the Hollywood trade paper Variety. According to their suit, they were stunned by the similarities, which included not just the show’s title but the way it incorporated audience participation and the $50,000 prizes, which the suit alleges were their idea.

“The arrogance of Simon Cowell and ABC is beyond comprehension,” Golden said in a statement Wednesday. “Can you imagine stealing an idea and not even bothering to change the name of it?”

The suit seeks unspecified damages and asks for an injunction to stop production of the ABC show.

ABC issued a statement Wednesday saying, “We have not even been served with the complaint in this matter and so have no comment.”

Cowell could not be reached. Representatives of FremantleMedia did not return calls.

Ann Marie Mortimer, the Los Angeles attorney who filed Golden and Walker’s copyright-infringement, trademark-infringement and unfair-competition suit, called the case “egregious.”

“This was more than an idea; it was a show that was up and running and a franchise,” Mortimer said, noting that the show has been syndicated to more than 120 stations. “This is a classic case of David versus Goliath.”

The talent agency that represents Cowell, Creative Artists Agency, is not named as a defendant in the suit.

However, court papers allege that as Golden and Walker made the rounds in Hollywood last year trying to sell their “Million Dollar Idea,” the powerhouse agency was one of the places they dropped off their business plan, show treatment and videotapes of the local version of the show.

According to an ABC news release, CAA put Cowell’s version of the show together and is receiving a packaging fee. CAA declined to comment.

Childhood pals, Golden and Walker got the idea for their show when both were working as “product talent scouts” for home shopping channel QVC, the suit alleges. Their idea, Golden said, was to “promote, protect and reward small-town American ingenuity.”

At least in Minnesota, that has proved popular: Their version of the show has been airing on the Twin Cities’ KSTC-TV for three seasons and more than 30 episodes.

“It is incredibly ironic that our show ... was itself the victim of corporate theft and greed,” Golden said in her statement. “What has happened to us is every inventor/entrepreneur’s worst nightmare: having your idea stolen.”