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13 April 2007 / Lindy Golding , Penelope Thornton
Issue: 7268 / Categories: Features , Media , Intellectual property
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Whose format is it anyway?

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Are television rights protectable in the UK? Lindy Golding and Penelope Thornton report

Copyright does not protect general ideas but the expression of ideas (see Designers Guild Ltd v Russell Williams (Textiles) Ltd [2001] FSR 11, [2001] 1 All ER 700). However, in IPC Media Ltd v Highbury-SPL Publishing Ltd [2004] EWHC 2985 (Ch), [2004] All ER (D) 342 (Dec) Mr Justice Laddie recognised the difficulty in  defining the boundary between the taking of general ideas and concepts and copying in the copyright sense.

Copyright protection for television programmes hit the news in November 2005 with the high-profile case brought by Simon Fuller's 19 TV against FremantleMedia Ltd, Simco Ltd, Syco Ltd and Simon Cowell. It involved a dispute about the music talent shows Pop Idol and The X Factor. However, the case settled without any further judicial guidance.

Spotlight on privacy

The rise in the popularity of reality television programmes has turned the spotlight on format piracy. In April 2000 the Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) was

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Employment law’s four-point check
The Supreme Court has settled a long-running dispute over part-time workers: unfavourable treatment need be a significant or effective cause, not the sole cause
NLJ this week: Privacy meets the courtroom
Arbitration may be private, but its confidentiality is no impenetrable shield. Writing in NLJ this week, James Glaysher of Kingsley Napley examines when courts will permit arbitral material to surface in open litigation
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The Financial Reporting Council’s revised Audit Enforcement Procedure will alter the balance of power in corporate investigations
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A telecoms operator may be able to hold over under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, yet still be unable to secure a renewal: an outcome described as a legal ‘paradox’
NLJ this week: Due process holds the line

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