British Broadcasting Company (“BBC”) brought a suit against Scott Stander & Associates (“Scott Stander”) in California federal court claiming that its rights to the popular “Dancing with the Stars” (“DWTS”) program have been infringed. Scott Stander is the producer of a live stage show called “Ballroom with a Twist” (“BWAT”) featuring dancers from “Dancing with the Stars.”
According to the complaint, Scott Stander has advertised its show as “the national-tour spinoff of ‘Dancing with the Stars’” and “a non-competitive spinoff.” Further, the complaint claimed that Scott Stander has used the trademark of “Dancing with the Stars” itself as well as the “same color, font, and design” of the trademark in its advertising material without the BBC’s authorization. The BBC notified Scott Stander of its infringement, but it has continued with the show.
The BBC in the complaint alleged Scott Stander’s infringement would “likely [] cause confusion among ordinary consumers as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or approval of the BWAT show and [] dilute the value of the DWTS Mark.”
Additionally, the BBC claimed that the dancers in the BWAT show breached their contracts because they are contractually barred from “render[ing] services or appear in any other dance related programs in any medium or authoriz[ing] the use of the DWTS Dancer’s name, voice or likeness in connection with an endorsement for any such program” and that Scott Stander knew about the details of the contracts. The complaint further alleged Scott Stander, despite its knowledge about the restrictions, induced the dancers to breach the contracts and thereby committed tortious interference.