I don't care whether they are scam or not, but the idea is very strange to say the least.
Counterparty basically wants to be where the money is, that is on top of Bitcoin blockchain. Their architecture is built on that. They have to fight limitations of Bticoin etc.
On the other hand Viacoin launches a new coin to build counterparty on top. This is just the opposite. And really doesn't make much sense IMHO.