BBC/DWTS Productions Reportedly Files Suit Against “Ballroom With A Twist”
Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the BBC and DWTS Productions have filed a complaint against Scott Stander and Associates of “Ballroom With A Twist”. Below you’ll find an excerpt from the report that describes the situation and Stander’s response. Heidi, Courtney, John, and I have some personal thoughts on this which you can read below (Note: We’re not attorneys. We do love DWTS and dance tours.). Let us know what you think in the comments too.
BBC and co-plaintiff DWTS Productions have a problem with the defendant’s advertising, asserting that “Ballroom with a Twist” is written in the same color, font and design in promotional materials as DWTS. The plaintiffs have also flagged advertisements on the websites of theaters describing the show as “a non-competitive spinoff of Dancing with the Stars, featur[ing] sizzling performances by jaw-dropping ‘DWTS’ celebrity pros.”
The lawsuit alleges unfair competition and trademark claims, raising the theory that by using DWTS in this manner, Standler will be “likely to cause confusion among ordinary consumers as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or approval of the BWAT show, and to dilute the value of the DWTS Mark.”
What takes this lawsuit that extra step is the note by plaintiffs that they have locked up contracts with all of its DWTS dancers including Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Emma Slater, Sharna Burgess, Peta Murgatroyd, and Jenna Johnson that guarantees, according to the complaint, they “shall not not render services or appear in any other dance related program in any medium, or authorize the use of the DWTS Dancer’s name, voice, or likeness in connection with an endorsement for any such program.”
Standler gave us this comment:
“We just received a copy of a complaint, and our attorneys are reviewing it. Our show has been in existence for over five years now without any previous objection by DWTS, so it is quite surprising and very suspect that they are now suing us. However, we are, and have been, just fair and open competition performing in live theatrical venues with different and unique entertainment elements in our show. There are also several other live dancing show productions out there. Our attorneys will respond in kind and protect what we have created and developed over the years and if necessary will file a counter lawsuit.”
Vogue: This makes me sad. Scott Stander is one of the most sweetest and giving people. I know this personally. He has gone out of his way so that many fans like myself could see the show, meet the pros, etc. In my opinion, Scott and Ballroom With A Twist have only HELPED to promote Dancing With The Stars in the off season not the opposite…as well as promote ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ And ‘American Idol’. Also, why is the BBC and DWTS productions making such a big deal on taking issues now when ‘Ballroom With A Twist” has had this show going in the way it has for a such long time (5 years)? Sad… I hope they can work it out somehow because I don’t think a suit is necessary especially when Ballroom With A twist has done so much for Dancing With The Stars and vice versa. Why not work together for the good of “dancing”, dancers, and dance fans everywhere instead?
Heidi: Well, unfortunately, anyone can sue. I think that the huge success of MOVE, selling out in 98% of the 50 or so shows they did across the country woke the owners of DWTS to the fact that they might be able to mount an equally successful tour next summer. This suit could well be the first step in eliminating the competition. Not only are they complaining about the marketing, but they specifically mention the pros who have long term contracts with DWTS and who also performed in BWAT. I think it’s pretty clear that if they lose the lawsuit, they can still eliminate BWAT by preventing those pros from performing in it. As for MOVE, I doubt they can touch that tour, because I doubt that Derek is still under long term contract. With all he has going on and the length of time he’s been on the show, he’s got to have a sweeter deal. The question is Sway. Sway is of much shorter duration, but from the sound of this suit, they can certainly put the kibosh on that one if they want to. Or at least, take out a lot of the dancers. The reason why the lawsuit bugs me is that it harms the income of the dancers if DWTS decides not to go forward with it’s own tour. Not only that, but it does indeed seem short sighted of DWTS to sue a production that does serve to promote the show’s professionals and, in turn, the show itself. If you want to mount your own tour, just do that and prevent the dancers from taking part in BWAT – not sure why the extra step is needed.
Courtney: Heidi is spot-on when she mentions this suit having the potential to hurt the livelihoods of some of the pros. I’ve referenced this before, but the bf actually interviewed for a pro spot on DWTS about 5 years ago – and while the salary ain’t bad, it’s certainly not handsome enough to live off of year-round if you’re a fairly new pro like Sharna, Sasha, Emma, etc…especially in a city with such a high cost-of-living as Los Angeles. There’s a reason why these pros stay busy in the off-season – not only does it keep their skills sharp, but it’s often much-needed supplemental income. And in the cases of dismissed pros like Anna & Chelsie – it’s often their primary source of income, and if this lawsuit basically shuts down shows like BWAT or Alec & Edyta’s “Dance Pros Live”, that’s one less opportunity that ballroom pros have to earn money. I give DWTS a lot of credit for bringing ballroom to the mainstream and turning professional dancers who had toiled in relative obscurity into household names, but this just seems like a bit of a d*ck move – shutting down a show that has been around for more than a few years now, likely because they’re looking to start their own show back up. I don’t even think BWAT would offer up much competition for a new iteration of the DWTS live tour – BWAT has mainly stuck to smaller venues, and tickets aren’t exorbitantly priced; I can only speak for myself, but if both shows came to my hometown, I’d shell out for both. But I get that the head honchos at DWTS are basically trying to protect their assets by keeping their pros to themselves. It’s just such a sticky situation – and since there are no guarantees that an official DWTS tour is going to happen, this just seems like bad news for both fans AND some of the pros.
John: I think there’s probably a lot more to this lawsuit than we realize. I bet more details will come out on it that we don’t know about yet. Plus, DWTS actually has to enforce its trademark if it wants to keep it. If it doesn’t enforce any violations of its mark, then it will lose its mark. It does make you wonder what took them so long to do it though. I don’t think MOVE or Edyta’s “Dance Pros Live” will have an issue, because I don’t think they’ve used the DWTS mark to promote their tours. I don’t think they used any of the pros that were under DWTS contract either. My guess is that those tours will be fine. Plus, BWAT can probably keep going if they remove the dancers under contract and the DWTS and Dancing with the Stars reference. Although, the look at past damages (or benefits) would be an interesting and challenging one. I think there are also laws and penalties for violation of trademarks even when you can’t show any damages.
It is pretty sad that the dancers kind of get screwed by their contracts. Of course, they’re the ones that chose to sign the contracts. All of the dancers should have chosen to never sign an exclusive contract and then this wouldn’t have been an issue. Of course, it’s a game or Russian roulette if you go that route. I’m reminded of an interview with Nigel Lythgoe, producer of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), where they asked him his feelings about SYTYCD dancers dancing on DWTS. He responded “These kids need to work.” Basically, he understood that life as a dancer was hard and there’s a limited time period where you can make money dancing. He didn’t want to stunt their careers. It’s not like music (see American Idol) where you can sing for a long time and so they can give you a terrible contract up front and you’ll be fine if your name is Carrie Underwood.
Anytime a lawyer gets involved it’s not pretty and everyone loses. Although, DWTS has the right to protect their trademark. We’ll see what happens with the case.
It may be far-fetched, but could it be that BBC and DWTS producers are seeking to receive monetary compensation from BWAT? I mean, payment of a percentage of the income in order to allow them to continue employing their pros? That is usually the case in these kinds of lawsuits in my country: they finally settle their differences with some money granted as compensation to “the injured party”.
Seems to me if DWTS wants exclusive rights to the pros they should pay for that. However, likr you all mentioned they have contracts and they were probably damn glad of them when they signed them. It might also be that with the rise of certain pro’s profiles, they have become more valuable to the brand of DWTS. And if these pros are dancing elsewhere, they are becoming more them and less the brand of the show. But imo the show is on its last legs – maybe a few more seasons- so the timing is weird.
I think the BWAT folks really kind of brought this on themselves by mimicking and referencing DWTS at every turn. If their lawyers didn’t warn them of this, they should be fired. If they did, then they knew the risks they were taking. If BWAT had eliminated all narrative/design elements referencing DWTS and generated its own purposefully separate identity, DWTS might not have sued, or even if they did their argument in court would be much much weaker. I’d be curious to know if BWAT always copied/referenced DWTS. If not, that might be what prompted DWTS to act.
Why now? Well, who knows. For several years, it SEEMS as if DWTS didn’t mind the pros going and performing on that show, and it SEEMS as if DWTS didn’t mind having the competition around, because DWTS has HIRED A LOT of pros who were on BWAT. Sasha? Emma? Peta? Henry? Tristan? Sharna? Damian? Keo? Please correct me if I’m wrong, or missed any. But anyway, it was fine for DWTS, because they could poach some very talented professional ballroom dancers for more visibility.
But then, MOVE happened, and ended up more successful than both Houghs thought, and DWTS took notice (my thinking). And The Fam created SWAY, and that was successful. And TPTB probably saw all of this and want in on the action… Didn’t we hear something like that this summer? How are they to put together a DWTS tour, and get people to spend the big bucks on them, if some of their biggest named talent is headlining for BWAT?
So there you have it, DWTS is suing BWAT all because of the Houghs. *I’M KIDDING!!!*
Speaking as a law student I read the full complaint and I found it interesting that there were specific pros named in the suit (Val, Sharna, Peta, Emma, and Jenna) and not people like Maks, Cheryl, Karina, and Tony. I believe this is due to the structuring of the contracts of the pros. Maks, Cheryl, Karina, and Tony most likely have different clauses in their contracts concerning outside work and promotion and use of their image/voice because of the length of time they have been on the show and their ability to negotiate a contract more in their favor.
I think that the issues DWTS will be able to get BWAT on is the use of copyrighted material such as the DWTS logo, any images used by ABC and DWTS to promote the pros/series, and specific dance routines preformed on the show.
When reading the complaint it discussed how the pros must get permission from DWTS to be able to preform in/create shows like Sway and Move, which clearly happened or else we would most likely have seen a joint suit filed.
Personally I find the suit annoying, but I do understand where the BBC and DWTS are coming from. They have to protect their copyrighted material.
DWTS DOES pay for exclusive rights to the pros – it’s in their contracts. I’m pretty sure that pros who have been around for a while and who are very popular (Derek, Maks, Cheryl, at least) are no longer under a long term contract, but the rest? Sorry, DWTS is boss.
As someone who saw Ballroom With a Twist, August 10 in Lancaster PA, news of the lawsuit really threw me for a loop. It was a highlight of my friend and I in our lifetime! We got to meet Val and Sharna, got to sit in the front row. Saw the marvelous, incredible dances up close and personal! We had already made plans to go to another show, depending how close one came to us. Yes, I’m sure we don’t know all the legalities and machinations involved in the suit.
But, I do know Ballroom With A Twist could only serve to draw interest to Dancing With The Stars. The two should be able to peacefully co-exist in the realm of dancing. In fact, I would love as many shows as possible to come down the dancing pike.
Let us hope and pray a favorable outcome comes out of the lawsuit. My friend and I, and all of the people who have seen the magnificent show Ballroom With A Twist want more shows to attend. When we saw the show in August it really whetted our dancing appetites to see Dancing With The Stars come back for Season 19.
If the dancing gods align, and the dancing stars are allowed to bring us marvelous dancing, that is the way it should be. Rock on Ballroom With A Twist!
LOL Lori – I would lay money that it IS because of the Houghs. Sure, Sway was successful but it was only two shows. MOVE sold out nearly ALL of it’s shows and added second shows in many cities because of it. Of course they had to notice that and think that the time was ripe to bring back their tour.
Meghan, you’re assuming that Derek still has the same contract as the rest of the pros. I highly doubt it, or he would have been off the show a while ago. While he loves it, I seriously doubt he would risk allowing it to prevent him from doing anything else he wanted. I think he has the power on his side at this point.
I find this lawsuit really interesting. During the BWAT show I saw in Lancaster, every time Val & Sharna opened their mouths, all they did was pimp DWTS and encourage people to tune in since things were starting to gear up. A part of me wonders however, if that was part of the problem (on top of seeing how well Move did). While I’m sure they can somewhat appreciate that their pros are encouraging people to tune in, I’m almost curious if some of the things that the pros were spilling while performing for BWAT is part of the problem. It could be a stretch, but I could absolutely see them being unhappy that their pros, that they have exclusive rights to, were spoiling their surprises (like the pro reveal occurring) on a technically competing show.
If this lawsuit goes further, I sure hope that DWTS does bring a show back for the sake of the pros. And I hope that it’s a show featuring just the pros (because that is something I would absolutely pay the big bucks to see)… unless they want to throw celebs to the caliber of Shawn Johnson.
Heidi, whoops forgot to mention Derek, I was just focusing on the ones who preformed for BWAT over the summer! But Derek clearly has been able to negotiate his own terms for a while, and his show Move along with Maks and Val’s Sway- I’m assuming was pre-approved by DWTS/BBC as the contracts of the dancers state- if he has that clause in his contract.
Ballroom with a Twist has been coming to my area for three years and the first two years there was only one show. This year they started with one show and then added two more and all three were sellouts. I don’t know if that happened anywhere else but it seems that DWTS finally took notice of the popularity.
Truth be told I did not realize it was a separate producer; I thought it was part of DWTS umbrella. And I am sure that other people thought that as well. So I can see how DWTS wants to protect their trademark. Hopefully they can come to an agreement. This really promotes the show and gives the pros some income they normally would not have.
PH, I know, and I agree. I added the “I’m kidding” at the end as an afterthought, because I figured someone would come and grab stuff from here and use that one sentence as “proof” in a hate filled anti-Hough rant. 🙂
Just a technicality, but in #4 above, Lori mentions that DWTS has hired A LOT (her emphasis)of pros who were on BWAT. I think the flow of dancers has generally been from DWTS to BWAT, not the other way around. The show that a lot of DWTS dancers have previously performed in — including most if not all of the ones specifically mentioned — was Burn the Floor, not BWAT.