Sometimes reality surpasses fiction, replicating the drama of a good television show, case in point, the recent lawsuit against Netflix, Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions, and the producers of reality TV series “King of Collectibles”. The awaited verdict arrived, with a federal judge dusting off the gavel and dismissing the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the aforementioned parties.
The drama all started with Gervase Peterson, a familiar face known for his stint on “Survivor” series, turning legal combatant alleging that he and Ken Goldin had a meeting of minds in 2019, where Peterson unfurled his idea for a show titled “The Goldin Boys”. Fast-forward a few twists and turns later, this idea, Peterson claimed, mutated into a show titled “King of Collectibles”, subsequently given life and streamed by Netflix, completely bypassing Peterson’s involvement.
As his case unfurled in the hallowed halls of the court, Peterson pointed out the glaring likenesses between his original pitch and the show that found its way to Netflix’s screens. After an initial bee-buzz of conversation and communication, Peterson found himself out in the frosty cold when the chitter-chatter ceased in the middle of 2020. Almost synchronized with that chilly silence, a concept not unlike his own bolted into the production phase. But the defense didn’t hesitate to throw a shroud over these claims, flagging that their reality show — a window into Goldin Auctions’ operations and a peek into Ken Goldin’s life — was but a narrative born from the womb of bland, unshielded ideas that lived under the Copyright Act’s overarching umbrella.
Judge Christine O’Hearn of New Jersey’s federal district court took a leaf out of the playbook of the defense, explaining that Peterson’s so-called ‘protectable’ elements were merely ‘scènes à faire’, a term in the legal world defining scenes or themes that are commonplace or characteristic to a genre, thus not meriting copyright protection. With the grandeur and grotesque of reality television as her backdrop, she insinuated that everyday happenings like those depicted in “King of Collectibles” just do not come under copyright protection’s embrace.
Riding on the precedent of past adjudications, Judge O’Hearn emphasized that living, breathing subjects and elements that form the backbone of reality TV are gloriously unprotectable. The dismissal of Peterson’s case not just reaffirmed this, but also painted a vivid picture of the Gordian knot that is copyright protection relating to broad concepts and themes woven into the reality TV tapestry.
Amidst this legal storm, “King of Collectibles” has not just dodged legal slings and arrows, but done it in style, scoring a nod from the Emmy Awards and carving its niche in the entertainment industry’s landscape. It seems, in this case, the reality of copyright law truly measures up to the dramatic expectations set by its television counterpart.
