‘Wife’ Producer Sues Fox Over Rival Show

TV producers are headed to court again over a “copycat” reality show.

RDF Media Ltd., the British producer of ABC’s program “Wife Swap,” sued Fox on Wednesday, claiming Fox Broadcasting Co.’s “Trading Spouses” is a “blatant and wholesale copycat” of their show.

Both series detail the experiences of real-life women who temporarily switch families. RDF claims that Fox decided to rip off its idea after “Wife Swap” became a hit in Britain and was sold to ABC.

The copyright infringement suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, seeks at least $18 million in damages. Rocket Science Laboratories, a production company that partnered with Fox, also was named as a defendant.

A Fox spokesman said the network had not seen the suit and could not comment.

This is the second time this year that a Fox reality series has inspired a copycat claim. The producers of NBC’s upcoming boxing show “The Contender” with Sylvester Stallone filed suit last summer against Fox and the studio Endemol USA, saying Fox’s “Next Great Champ” ripped off the idea for the NBC show and also violated boxing laws. But in August, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge declined to block the broadcast of “Champ.”

Copyright cases against reality series have proved hard to win. In 2002, CBS unsuccessfully sued ABC and Granada Entertainment USA over its show “I’m a Celebrity.... Get Me Out of Here!” arguing that it illegally copied the mega-hit “Survivor.”

The battle between “Wife Swap” and “Trading Spouses” has already kicked up a public war between network executives. In July, ABC Primetime Entertainment President Stephen McPherson warned producers not to pitch ideas to Fox. “They will steal it, plain and simple,” he told reporters.

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.