FBI has taken an interest in the ongoing copyright infringement dispute between Brandon McSmith and Poker PROductions, the company behind the poker show Face the Ace.


According to McSmith's claim, Poker PROductions has stolen his original idea for a poker show where contestants challenge pros to heads up matches, picking their opponents from behind closed doors. Below is a video of the concept that McSmith created and tried to sell to various production companies; it's an amateurish presentation but shows striking similarities to the Face the Ace format which was created later.

McSmith says he contacted a US Attorney's Office about the case which led to a phone call from the FBI. "This week, the FBI got in touch with me twice and asked for all of the information. They’ll be launching an investigation of the copyright infringement charges," McSmith said to Poker  News Daily.

FBI's interest may be explained by the fact that Full Tilt Poker is the sponsor of Face the Ace and McSmith's case may present the Bureau with the chance of getting their claws on the site which has kept on taking US customers despite the UIGEA. Last year the same US Attorney's Office that McSmith contacted (Office for the Southern District of New York) seizured $30 million of online poker funds going to US players.

McSmith admits reading about the seizure case was what prompted him to contact this particular US Attorney's Office. He says he intends to go all the way with his copyright infringement claim: "At a certain point in time, you get tired of people lying about this... In order to prosecute a copyright infringement charge, you have to know you’re right... The FBI is involved and my intent is to prosecute," he says to Poker News Daily.

Originally McSmith wanted an astronomical $85 million in compensation, but now his demand does not contain an exact figure.

Source: Poker News Daily.