Simon Cowell is being sued by two people who claim he stole the idea for a new US television show, titled 'Million Dollar Idea'.
The pair filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court alleging that the 'Pop Idol' judge had copied the entire premise of a show already being aired, and sold it as his own.
Jean Golden and Todd Walker, who claim they created the original show, have demanded an injunction and unspecified damages from Cowell and US network ABC.
"It is incredibly ironic that our show, the premise of which is to promote, protect and reward small-town American ingenuity, was itself the victim of corporate theft and greed," Golden said in a statement.
Their lawyer, Ann Marie Mortimer, said the couple devised a show of exactly the same name and concept which had run successfully for four years in Minneapolis.
She claimed they had pitched a detailed blueprint of the programme to ABC in 2004 as part of an attempt to develop the brand and reach a wider audience.
