When it comes to a fight between Mike Rowe and Mike Rowe -- Mike Rowe ALWAYS wins.
TMZ broke the story ... a non-famous man named Mike Rowe (right) -- formerly incarcerated in a South Dakota prison -- filed a lawsuit against THE Mike Rowe from "Dirty Jobs" ... claiming Rowe's use of the name on TV made him the laughing stock of the prison system.
In the lawsuit, Rowe (ex-prisoner) bellyached that his life behind bars had become a living hell because of his name -- insisting, "I can't live here in prison without being called Dirty Jobs or ... Dirtiest Man."
Ex-prisoner Rowe -- who was serving time for a DUI bust -- also claimed he had copyrighted his name to protect it ... and TV Rowe violated it.
But a judge didn't buy Rowe's case -- shocker -- tossing the non-famous Mike Rowe's lawsuit out of court ... because you can't copyright your name.