EXCLUSIVE
Jerry Seinfeld[1] isn't laughing over a claim he stole the idea for his hit Netflix show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" -- instead, he says the guy suing him doesn't have a leg to stand on.
In the docs Jerry filed, he lays out 3 reasons why Christian Charles' lawsuit should be dismissed. Christian claims Jerry ripped off his original concept[2] of 'CICGC.' First, Jerry says Christian missed his chance to sue over a copyright claim -- pointing out the first episode aired in 2012, and it's now 2018. The statute of limitations for copyright claims is 3 years.
Jerry also claims the idea of comedians in cars getting coffee is too generic to claim ownership over. He points to "Carpool Karoake," "Jay Leno's Garage" and something called ... "Cougars in Cars Getting Cosmos" ... as examples in the genre.
Finally, Jerry says he filed a copyright for his pilot episode of 'CICGC' ... just the episode, not the concept. But in the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jerry says Christian filed his own copyright 10 days later for "Comedians in Cars Going for Coffee." Jerry thinks Christian was trying to be sneaky by slightly tweaking the title.
Jerry admits in his response that Charles did, in fact, direct the pilot episode in 2011 ... but denies stealing anything.
References
- ^ Jerry Seinfeld (www.tmz.com)
- ^ ripped off his original concept (www.tmz.com)