‘My Kitchen Rules’ vs. ‘The Hot Plate’: Seven Network files 'copycat' lawsuit against Channel Nine's new cooking reality TV series

Nine Network recently aired the new Australian cooking reality TV series titled “The Hotplate.” Rival network Seven, which airs the hit cooking reality show “My Kitchen Rules,” noticed the similarities so they decided to take the copyright issue to Federal Court.

An unnamed spokesman of Channel Seven said in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) report that Channel Nine’s on-air promotions for “The Hot Plate,” which they saw, gave a strange sense of déjà vu. The spokesman further added that they believe Channel Nine has appropriated the original format and associated production elements of “My Kitchen Rules,” which has been airing since February 2010.

“That’s why we’re in court,” the Seven Network spokesperson said in the SMH report. Meanwhile, Channel Nine stated in the same report that they will defend the allegations made by Channel Seven on the Endemol-produced cooking reality TV series.

Channel Nine denied the accusation of the rival network and insisted in a report from nzherald.co.nz that “The Hotplate” is an original format that Channel Nine developed. “We will be vigorously defending the case. We don't have anything else to say given the matter’s before the court,” Victoria Buchan, the spokeswoman for Channel Nine, declared in the nzherald.co.nz report.

Channel Seven claims “The Hotplate” applied almost the same casting, costume, setting, music, promotion and judging processes that can be watched in “My Kitchen Rules.” The premiere of “The Hotplate” last Tuesday, July 28, introduced six couples, who all manage established restaurants in Australia, as the contestants competing for the grand prize money worth AU$100,000.

The first stage of the cooking competition will have each couple cooking for celebrity judges Tom Parker Bowles and Scott Pickett as well as the other couples in their respective restaurants. Then, the judges and the other couples will critically assess and score the cooked dishes.

The next stage in the competition will have the contestants accomplish a makeover on their restaurant with the AU$20,000 money given to them. Meanwhile, “My Kitchen Rules” have teams competing in transforming their ordinary home into a restaurant for a AU$100,000 grand prize.

On Tuesday, a judge will come to a decision if Channel Seven has the grounds to claim that Channel Nine and Endemol have infringed the network’s copyright.

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