TOKYO - Tokyo Broadcasting System is suing the Alphabet web in US courts for copyright infringement, TBS revealed on Tuesday.

TBS has filed suit in the US District Court in Los Angeles claiming that the ABS show "Wipeout" has appropriated ideas from three TBS programs, including "Takeshi's Castle," "Sasuke" and "Kuniochi."

The "Takeshi's Castle" capture-the-castle show aired on TBS from 1986 to 1989 and both the show and format have been sold widely around the world, with versions airing in nearly 20 countries to date.

"Sakuke," a three-hour obstacle race special that has been appearing on TBS periodically since 1998,  has also been popular with foreign buyers and now airs in edited versions in the US, UK, New Zealand, Greece and Italy. "Kuniochi" is a spin-off of "Sasuke" for female competitors.

With their ad income shrinking in Japan, TBS and other Japanese networks are increasingly looking abroad for revenue streams, while, as the TBS case shows, more vigorously protecting copyrights.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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