A federal judge has rejected a motion to dismiss filed by the On Patrol: Live producers and the Reelz channel, which means the copyright and trademark infringement case filed by the A&E cable network will go forward.

Reelz et. al will now need to file an answer to the original A&E complaint, which co-defendant Big Fish Entertainment previously described as meritless, by July 7.

It also sends the case into the so-called discovery phase.

This is a often tedious process — sometimes constituting a fishing expedition — that includes the parties exchanging internal documents, mutual posing and answering written questions (interrogatories), and possibly under-oath depositions (as a warmup for examination/ cross examination at a trial) in front of a court reporter.

Somewhere along the way, as in any civil lawsuit, settlement could be possible.

Panicky, virtue signaling A&E corporate execs cancelled Live PD, it’s most popular program and the predecessor to On Patrol: Live, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.

On Patrol: Live significantly raised the profile of the once-obscure Reelz channel,

The latter is available on various cable and satellite systems (but not all).

It is notably on the NBC Peacock streaming service, as well as some lesser known streamers.

As a follow-on to its A&E success, On Patrol: Live is similarly the biggest hit on Reelz.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, an Obama appointee, denied the motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Failla wrote in her ruling that while individual elements of a show like Live PD, including live footage from law enforcement and analysis from in-studio hosts, aren’t eligible for copyright protection, “the particular selection and arrangement of the elements as a whole — namely, the mix of live police footage and in-studio commentary; the black screen displaying a message regarding a suspect’s innocence in white text each time the show begins or returns from a break; the red and blue lights to mirror police cars; the use of hosts Dan Abrams and Sgt. [Sean] Larkin, sitting around virtually identical tables with virtually identical mugs; the sequencing of the ‘Missing’ and ‘Crime of the Week’ segments and the guest on the ‘Missing’ segment; the positioning of the hosts; the specific and consistent camera angles used; and the following of specific police departments across weeks — considered together, are sufficiently creative to state a cognizable copyright claim.”

OPL fans on social media have more or less concluded that the legal wrangling is just sour grapes on A&E’s part.

Online reaction is still rolling in; here is just a quick sample: