Empire TV Show Survives Copyright Suit

​On August 28, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that there is no substantial similarity between the Fox network’s hit drama “Empire” and actor and producer Clayton Prince Tanksley’s pilot for “Cream.” Tanksley v. Daniels, 3d Cir., No. 17-2023, 8/28/18.

Tanksley said he shared a DVD of a three-episode pilot for “Cream” with future “Empire” creator Lee Daniels in 2008. But the show bore little resemblance to “Empire” beyond an African-American owner of a hip-hop record label serving as the central character, said the court. “With regard to plot, the similarities between the shows likewise extend no farther than the bare abstraction of an African-American, male record executive,” the court said.