Is Netflix show 'Goldin Touch' a rip-off of Gervase Peterson's TV idea?

CAMDEN – A “Survivor” star from South Jersey is suing collectibles auctioneer Ken Goldin, claiming the businessman copied his idea for a Netflix show.

Gervase Peterson, who appeared in the first season of “Survivor,” and two other plaintiffs want unspecified damages from Goldin and his Runnemede business, Goldin Auctions LLC.

The suit says Peterson helped develop the idea for a reality show to be called “The Goldin Boys.”

It was filed in Camden federal court on May 25, shortly after Netflix began streaming another show about the auctioneer: “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch.”

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"The substantial similarities between ‘The Goldin Boys’ and ‘King’ are remarkable,” the lawsuit claims.

Gervase Peterson lawsuit cites Jackie Robinson

Among other points, it asserts both shows have an “incredible similarity to the look, feel and pacing.”

The suit contends the Netflix show’s premiere, like a promotional "sizzle reel" for “The Goldin Boys,” included a segment about baseball great Jackie Robinson.

Both productions also feature similar treatment for a Goldin employee who serves as the auctioneer's on-screen “foil, who is either hardly working or working hard,” the suit says.

A synopsis for “The Goldin Boys” says the “mesmerizing and fascinating” show would offer an inside look “as Ken and his team acquire and sell sports items dealing with some of the most rare and valuable items in the industry.”

Goldin Auctions’ website describes the businessman as “one of the most widely recognized leaders in the collectibles industry.” It says Goldin has sold more than $1.3 billion in memorabilia “from many of the biggest names in sports, history, and pop culture.”

Peterson is a reality TV star and a social media influencer, according to the suit.

He finished in seventh place in the first season of “Survivor,” which debuted to a national frenzy in May 2000. Peterson at that time was a Willingboro resident.

Thirteen years later, he was in the final three for the 27th season.

“The Goldin Boys,” with a screenplay copyrighted in April 2019, got as far as having a sizzle reel for prospective buyers.

Sizzle reel made at Goldin Auctions

The eight-and-a-half minute video was made with Goldin’s participation as a performer and funder, the lawsuit says.It was filmed in November 2019 at Goldin Auctions and in South Florida.

But after the summer of 2020, the suit says, Peterson and his partners encountered “radio silence” from the Goldin camp about the project.

Goldin declined to comment on the copyright infringement suit, which contends Peterson and his partners have the right to any profits made by the Netflix show.

A representative of Netflix, which is also a defendant, could not be reached for comment.

The other plaintiffs in the suit are Richard Berger, a former Goldin employee who introduced Peterson to the auction house operator in 2019, and Skye Dennis, a Southern Californian who created the sizzle reel.

The suit also wants an injunction that would remove the show from the streaming service and bar any future seasons based on similar content.

And the partners are requesting credit "for creating and writing the original source material" for “King.”

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times, and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.