Dr. Phil sues Gawker Media for posting footage of the TV therapist’s interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man behind the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax, on it’s sport gossip blog, Deadspin.com

It was filed through Dr. Phil McGraw’s Peterski Productions last Monday in Terkana, Texas. The suit claims that the website posted the juiciest parts of the interview online before it had aired in most of Dr. Phil markets.

The lawsuit also includes a paraphyletic reference to make an attack on the system of content aggregation in general.

The complaint reads, "A remora is a fish, sometimes called a suckerfish, which attaches itself to other fish like sharks. The host fish gains nothing from the relationship but the remora is enriched by obtaining benefits (usually food and transportation) from the host... Gawker received substantial benefits from its infringement but Pateski received nothing that is, unless its damages are compensated in this lawsuit."

The first part of the two-part interview, which aired over two days, had ended on a cliffhanger with viewers not knowing whether or not Tuiasosopo would speak in the female voice that allegedly duped Te’o into thinking he was carrying on a long-distance relationship with a woman named, “Lennay Kekua.”

In the second part of the interview, Tuiasosopo did speak in Kekua’s voice.

The suit alleges that Deadspin stole copyrighted material and made it available to viewers online, which resulted into the show’s lower ratings for the second episode. The video of the second show, which has been posted at 9:30 AM, based on the complaint, was “hours before the Dr. Phil show aired to over 98% of its viewers” nationwide.

The claim, which was filed for Peterski by lawyers Chip Babcock of Houston and George McWilliams of Terkana, claims to seek actual damages for an amount to be proven at trial, an injunction that will keep Gawker from infringing on Peteski Production’s copyright for Dr. Phil episodes, as well as punitive damages intended to deter Gawker Media from engaging in such behavior in the future.

Without any settlement, the lawsuit will explore the question of whether posting excerpts of TV shows online when not all time zones have a gotten a chance to see the on-air broadcast, is covered or not by the fair use exceptions to copyright law.

Deadspin originally broke the news on the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax, which became one of the most sensational media storms of the year. The story has received more than 4 million views on the site.

The plaintiff accuses Deadspin of committing copyright infringement against another entity. Based on the complaint, “In January of 2013, it published a lengthy article regarding the hoax and imbedded in the story a three minute news broadcast from CBS This Morning. A month later, the three minute broadcast was removed in favor of a shorter clip with a note that said: 'CBS This Morning video edited at request of CBS.' This 'request' was a demand to cease and desist using CBS' copyrighted material."

Peteski’s complaint also mentions Gawker’s own expectations of being paid for copyrighted content and Deadspin’s pride in releasing “exclusives” and quoted former editor A.J. Daulerio as those "unique circumstances wherein we feel it's necessary to inform dumb readers that the story they are reading on this site was generated here and only here despite our dubious reputation as content remoras."

The Dr. Phil suit may have greater implications, particularly on the role of known content aggregators. A similar issue has risen before between Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post and News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch.