ORLANDO, Fla. – In a lawsuit filed in district court, Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament alleges Pirates Dinner Adventure, of Orlando, stole the concept for its new show directly from the knight-themed dinner show.
In court papers filed Tuesday by Medieval Times, lawyers representing the company say a new show running at Pirates Dinner Adventure, titled "Camelot Knights," is "remarkably similar to, and obviously copied from," Medieval Times.
The filing says "Camelot Knights" features knights in similar dress, a similar menu and similar plot to Medieval Times' show. The papers also alleges that "Camelot Knights" uses similar phrases to describe its menu and in promotional materials.
For example, Medieval Times uses the phrase "a knight to remember" to advertise its show, while "Camelot Knights" uses the phrases " a night to remember" on its website.
Lawyers for Medieval Times claim the "Camelot Knights" violates several state and federal laws that protect their show. The lawsuit seeks lawyers fees, damages and an order to keep Pirates Dinner Adventure from running the show.
A lawyer for Productions 2012, the company putting on "Camelot Knights" together with Pirates Dinner Adventure, says his client has received the lawsuit and is taking it seriously. The lawyer says it's too early to respond or make a statement and cites the 21 days his client has to formally respond to the suit.
Local 6 reached out to the Orlando lawyer representing Medieval Times but has not heard back.
Local 6's legal analyst Luis Calderon says the concept of an entertainment show isn't exactly protected under Florida law.
"The current state of the case law basically indicates that in the world of entertainment things can be similar yet not a violation of trade dress," Calderon said.
The Medieval Times says in its lawsuit that they noticed the similarities between shows right after a former worker went to work for the other dinner show. Calderon says Medieval Times might have some grounds for a suit if they can prove getting the worker was part of the plan to copy the show.
"You've got to point to a lot of things and it can't just be speculation the idea is this is actually taking people out of their seats," said Calderon.
The lawsuit asks for the court to order Pirates to stop running their Camelot Knights show, along with asking for damages.