[Commons-Law] The Protection of Formats vide .... Copyright ?

[Mathew M. Chacko]

All,

Has anybody read .... Survivor v. Im A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here ???

Would any one know of an argument that the law of copyright extends too long 
a period of protection for as elusive an "asset" as a format (+ the public 
interest in reduced protection period for ideas) and therefore that it 
should be protected (assuming it should be protected) by some other regime 
... A law of ideas ?? Has such an argument been advanced ..anywhere ? 
Articles/ Cases etc ?

Mathew




Formats for success

Saturday April 5, 2003
The Guardian

Alex Wade's article (Hey, that's my idea Tuesday, April 1st) detailed the 
gloomy outlook for television format copyright protection in international 
law courts. But there is hope. Frapa (Format Recognition and Protection 
Association) is agitating to have the trade protected under more inclusive 
copyright laws. In Germany, the North Rhine Westphalian government is 
leading a push to introduce formal definitions of television formats to the 
local copyright law. There is a realisation in the US that the business of 
television formats is growing and needs protecting, just as a decade ago the 
burgeoning computer software industry needed its intellectual property 
protected. In the recent US case of Survivor vs I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out 
of Here, the concept of legal protection for formats under copyright law was 
acknowledged, even if infringement was not proven in that instance. In that 
judgment some important precedents were introduced, such as the introduction 
of an overall "look and feel" test of a show's format, as well as defining a 
particular format by its individual elements. That case restated an 
important principle of US protection, "even where a television show is made 
up of entirely stock devices, an original ... organisation ... of such 
devices can nevertheless be protected, just as it is the original 
combination of words or notes that leads to a protectable book or song". 
However, changes in the law are slow and in the meantime Frapa offers 
mediation. Even fiercely warring individuals see the wisdom of mediation 
when the alternative is the slow, expensive, unsure legal system. To date, 
Frapa has had outcomes satisfying to both parties in all but one of its 
mediations. The format industry needs certainty, so while the law drags its 
feet Frapa provides fast, reliable solutions.
David Lyle
Frapa, Cologne



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