The Samsonadzes

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or then again it may just be copyright infringement. That is the question surrounding the newest offering on Georgia's Imedi TV network, a comedy program called "The Samsonadzes".

According to EurasiaNet, The Samsonadzes follow the adventures of a yellow-colored, four-fingered animated family with a slow-witted father in an anonymous small town. And if that description has you thinking of The Simpsons, you're not alone. Simpsons fans in Georgia (and apparently there are some) are crying foul over the new series, though The Samsonadzes' producers insist the similarities between the two shows are only skin deep (a strange mustard-tinged skin deep that is), and that The Samsonadzes offer a Georgian spin on the family comedy genre.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance, a trade group that targets international copyright violators, claims that Georgia is among some of the world's worst IP violators - a holdover, some say, from the country's Soviet past when "property rights" was not a familiar concept for most people. So far 20th Century Fox, the producers of The Simpsons, hasn't weighed in on The Samsonadzes.