LAWCOMM 754
RESEARCH PAPER
Caroline
Gault
TO WHAT
EXTENT ARE GAME SHOWS AND OTHER FORMS OF REALITY TELEVISION PROTECTED AGAINST
IMITATION UNDER THE COPYRIGHT LAWS OF:
•
• THE UNITED STATES
AND
•
WHAT ARE THE
LIKELY CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT IF SUCH PROTECTION IS GRANTED?
INTRODUCTION
Game shows and
other forms of reality television are
based on programme formats, which have in recent years become a huge global
trade. A successful television format can be distributed internationally for
massive profits. The global format
business was worth an estimated 2.4 billion dollars in 2004.[1]
Why are formats so
marketable? Because formats are relatively cheap to make. They are often not
scripted, therefore costly writer’s fees are avoided. They use ordinary people
or celebrities rather than actors, saving on actors’ fees.[2]
And they are popular. The ‘reality’ aspect of unscripted programming has a wide
appeal to the television viewing public, because due to the participation of
real people as opposed to actors, they provide a sense of voyeurism, expectation
of the unexpected, and a level of genuine emotion that scripted television or documentary[3]
does not. Furthermore, formatted television shows come
with a track record and often a pre-existing profile in the international
television market due to the success of the original foreign version. Chances are that a format that has succeeded
in the United Kingdom (“UK”) or the United States (“US”) will, with a few
cultural tweaks, succeed in other Western (or Eastern![4])
countries, because the format owner has got the recipe right. Big
Brother[5],
the Idol[6]
format, Who Wants to be a Millionaire[7],
Strictly Come Dancing[8]
– successful formats such as these can bring a format owner literally millions
of dollars in format licence fees, production consultancy fees and ancillary
income.[9]
However, the low
production values and popularity of these shows has also led to a huge number
of copycat formats.[10]
In fact, considering the dubious legal status of formats as copyright works, it
is surprising any producers pay licence fees at all.
So what is a
television programme format?
The New Shorter
Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘format’ as, inter alia, “a style or manner of arrangement or
procedure.”[11]
Formats can be
divided into two distinct types of television programmes[12]:
1.
Game,
chat or quiz shows: in this type of show the format might be defined as the
fixed and repeated elements, including the sequence of events, catchphrases,
set and music) which form the dramatic structure of the programme, giving the
programme its distinctive identity. Traditional examples of such shows include The Price is Right, Sale of the Century and Who
Wants to be A Millionaire?, however these days shows such as Survivor and The Apprentice as well as those mentioned on the previous page, as an evolution of unscripted game shows, also
come under this heading.
2.
Soaps
and series: In soap operas and similar series fixed, repeated or predictable
elements form the setting or background against which the action takes place.
The fixed elements may include stock settings and characters (such as a
hospital, doctors and nurses), whose response to each other and their
environment provide the dramatic impetus for the programme. The repetition of
fixed delineated characters is the essence of the work, and the plot is subsdiiary.
The second category
of formats concerns programmes that will, in the course of development into a
television programme, entail scripts, which will attract copyright protection
as original dramatic works or original literary works. Format disputes rarely
arise in fictional programmes such as these because substantial copying of the
scripts without infringement is not possible. Also, concepts such as plot and character have
at times been protected by copyright. Therefore we are not so concerned with
the second category for the purposes of this paper. In contrast, due to the high degree of
improvisation in the first category of formats, the copyright in the proposal, any
scripts that exist or the actual programme are less likely to be infringed. We
will be examining the extent of copyright protection afforded to this category
of formats in detail.
I.
FORMAT PROTECTION IN THE
The
Both the
A. Originality
For a work to
qualify for protection under copyright legislation, it must be original. A work is not original, and will therefore
not attract protection, if it is copied.[16] If a work consists of original and unoriginal
parts, the whole work may be classified as an original work.[17]
In
It is trite law
that copyright only subsists in the expression of a work rather than the
underlying idea. This rule has been
developed in recognition that we must strike a balance between providing an
incentive to create and the public interest in being able to use the ideas
behind such creative works. The tension
is between the private domain of copyright protection and the economic
interests of the copyright holder on the one hand, and the public domain of
utilisation to ensure maximum public discourse, debate and social growth on the
other.
But where is the
boundary between the idea and the expression?
As Learned Hand J. has oft been quoted, “nobody has ever been able to fix that boundary, and nobody ever can”.[19]
With regard to reality television formats it is particularly difficult.
B. Substantial Similarity
Historically copyright
was first created to protect creators from others literally copying their
works, or substantial parts of it. However what constitutes a substantial part is
not defined by statute. Over time the notion of copyright has broadened, however
how to prove “substantial similarity” in the case of non-literal reproduction it is more difficult
to determine.
The test for
infringement of copyright is as follows:
The standard of
appropriation required is as set out in Bleiman
v News Media (
“It is perhaps more helpful to consider
whether the effort, skill and judgment of the copyright owner in the making of
his original work has been taken in the making of what appears, on a realistic
assessment to be a reproduction of a substantial part.”
Overall it is a
matter of fact and degree. A substantial part may be qualitatively important,
but only quantitively amount to a small part of the work as a whole.[22]
C.
Corelli v Gray[23]
concerned an action for
infringement by the performance of a dramatic sketch of the plaintiff’s
copyright in a novel. In the judgment
the following statement was made which remains valid today:
“Under the…Act, …no absolute monopoly is
given to authors analogous to that conferred in inventors of patents – that is
to say, if it could be shown as a matter of fact that two precisely similar
works were in fact produced wholly independently of one another, I do not think
that the author of that work that was published first would be entitled to
restrain the publication by the other author of that author’s independent and
original work. The right appears to be merely a negative right to prevent the
appropriation of the labours of the author by another.”[24]
Therefore copyright
protection is only available to works that have actually been copied.
Coincidental reproduction does not equate to infringement.
In that case,
despite the fact there was nothing very striking or original in either the
novel or the sketch, it was stated “When
it appeared that not merely one, two or three stock incidents had been used,
but a combination of stock incidents, every one of which had been taken from
the plaintiff’s book, it would be narrowing the law beyond what was reasonable
to say that the plaintiff was not entitled to be protected.”[25]
However, the same
judge in the following year held that a mere general similarity of plot without
more could not amount to infringement.[26] It is important to bear in mind that the
level of originality in a work will determine the extent to which it is
protected. If a work is not particularly original, the level of protection will
therefore be slim.[27]
So the line between
the idea of a plot and its expression is blurry, and very much depends on the
level of detail reproduced.
Wilson v Broadcasting Corp of New Zealand[28] concerned a concept for a television series
for children in which handicapped adolescents together performed heroic and
magical acts in defeat of evil forces. The concept was presented to the
defendant in a nine and a half page document and a 57 page feasibility study
was later provided. Negotiations for the commission of the programme commenced,
but were never completed. Four years
later the defendant produced and transmitted a television series, the themes,
characters and format of which the plaintiff alleged were derived from their
copyright material.
In the decision the
court referred to the meaning of “originality” as discussed in University of London Press Ltd University
Tutorial Press Ltd [29]:
“The originality required relates to the
expression of the thought. But the Act does not require that the expression
must be in original or novel form, but that the work must not be copied from
another work – that it should originate from the author”.[30]
It was held that
the quintessential part of the feasibility study was a dramatic work within
section 7 of the 1962 Act, and was not in the realm of unprotected ideas. Because
all key components of the plaintiff’s format – including the plot line of two
adolescent handicapped children using their stick and wheelchair as weapons to
fight evil and do good – had been reproduced in the material form of the
television programme, the plaintiff’s copyright was infringed.
“It might be a simple enough idea…but the
roots of the defendant’s programme go straight back to the plaintiff’s
feasibility study…”[31]
It was pointed out
in this judgment however that ”A man may
take part, or even the whole, of a copyright work, without being liable, if he
adds to it a considerable amount of matter”.[32]
Though the above
cases also provide useful ratios that can be applied when considering formats
for reality television programming, they all concerned fictional dramatic
works.
Green v Broadcasting Corp of
The plaintiff,
Hughie Green, was the author, producer and compere of a successful television
talent quest produced and transmitted in the UK under the name ‘Opportunity Knocks’ from the early 1960’s until 1978. The defendant devised and commenced
transmission of a similar talent show under the same name in
Court of Appeal
Decision
On appeal Green
accepted the lower courts inevitable ruling there was no copyright in the title
of the programme, due to existing decisive case law[35].
Green lost the passing off claim as he failed to show any protectable good will
or reputation in NZ. The court was
divided on the question of infringement of copyright in a dramatic work. No written scripts were produced, however
Green gave evidence to prove that these had existed, and had included the
title, various catch-phrases, the general order of appearances and happenings
and the clapometer. Somers J and Casey J
agreed that Green’s scripts could not support a claim of copyright in a
dramatic work, because they could not themselves be acted or performed, and
were no more than a “general scheme for
entertainment”.[36]
Somers J was of the opinion there could
not be a claim for copyright in a format which is not either a dramatic or
literary work itself, or perhaps a combination of both. Casey J. was of the view that the protection
of a format could not be brought within the framework of the Act to prevent
appropriation of a basic concept underlying a series of changing dramatic works.
In regard to the
scripts being a literary work, it was difficult for the court to come to any
firm conclusions in the absence of the physical manifestation of them. It was
concluded that “If the general idea which
underlies or forms the basis of the work has alone been taken then there will
be no infringement”, and that the scripts as they were inferred to be did
nothing but express a general concept or idea, which could not be the subject
of copyright protection. [37]
Gallen J disagreed
with the majority. He was of the view that the real strength of Green’s case
was not “from looking for any rather
strained interpretation of the word “script”. It is to be found in his
contention that he had produced a dramatic format which was entitled to
protection”.[38]
Gallen J. suggested
that if the combination of material on which the person seeking protection
relied has a recognisable framework or structure and that framework is such as
to impose a shape upon the other constituent parts of the show produced within
it, then it would be contrary to the principles of copyright to deny such
material protection. Gallen J concluded
that on the facts of the case Green was entitled to copyright protection in
respect of the repetitive structure of his show.
Privy Council
decision
The Privy Council
decision is famed for its brevity. It upheld the Court of Appeal decision for
the following reasons:
The recent
The concept “unity
of performance” has been criticised for being vague and overly subjective. Rose
suggests that a more objective test such as “structured performance” would
allow judges to apply a more fact based test similar to the manner in which
literary and artistic works are assessed.[42]
This approach would be potentially more favourable to creators of formats
seeking copyright protection.
However in Norowzian the court stated that whilst there was
striking similarity between the filming and editing style of the two films, “no
copyright subsists in mere style or technique”.[43]
This could arguably be said to extend to the technique used in structuring of a
television programme.
This view was given
support in Celador Productions Ltd v
Melville anor, in which similarities between two game shows were termed as
“[no] more than the application of well
known presentational techniques”.
The judge went on to say “What I
have identified as similar elements are no more than elements of style or
technique which, as the Court of Appeal held in Norowzian v Arks, when divorced
from their context cannot give cause of action for breach of copyright.”[44]
D.
Therefore
to summarise, as the UK and NZ law stands, unlike formats and plots for
fictional programmes[45],
a format for an unscripted reality programme, whether recorded by way of bible
or in an actual television programme, will generally not have “sufficient unity of
performance” to be classed as a dramatic work.
The
only way to protect a format is to depend on the fact the actual programme is
copyright, the name can be trademarked, and any scripts, set designs, stage
designs, lighting designs and music can
all be protected by copyright. Reliance
can also be placed on the tort of passing off, section 9 of the Fair Trading
Act[46],
and where there has been a relationship of confidence, breach of confidence. It is worth noting that today Green may well have been decided differently as with
the shrinking of the international television market, the plaintiff may well
have been able to show reputation in NZ.
Format
owners desirous of protection are well advised to record the details of their
format in writing to create a literary or dramatic work. However in general,
such a detailed document amounting to a dramatic work may not have been
produced. Some of the format “bibles” that are the basis for format licences
are only a few pages in length, and certainly would not meet the “sufficient
unity of performance” test set out in Green.
The
other difficulty is that format copycats are canny enough to appreciate the
status of the law in this area, and understand that as long as they do not copy
the name of the source format and make a few changes to the programme formula
and structure, they may well successfully avoid liability.[47]
II.
A. The
position in the
The
Section
102(a) of the US Copyright Act[49]
provides that copyright protection subsists in “original works of authorship”.
“Works of authorship” are not necessarily limited to the eight broad categories
of works listed under section 102(a).[50] These categories are “illustrative and not limitative” and do not exhaust the scope of
the definition.[51]
A flexible definition was intended that would neither “freeze the scope of copyrightable subject matter at the present stage
of communications technology or…allow unlimited expansion into areas completely
outside the present congressional intent.”[52]
Thus
under the US Act it is possible to argue that a work which does not appear in
the list in section 102(a) is nevertheless entitled to copyright protection.
However
the House Committee Report on an earlier version of the US Act listed a number
of works that would not necessarily fall within the scope of the provision, one
of these being “formats and synopses of
television series.”[53]
In
contrast to the
Nichols v Universal Pictures
Corp[55]
(”Nichols”) concerned a
playright’s claim that the copyright in his play had been infringed by a motion
picture along similar plotlines. Whilst not directly on the point of reality television formats, helpful principles
have been derived from this judgment and subsequently held to apply.
Judge
Learned Hand points out the difficulty in applying the “substantial similarity”
test when dealing with indirect plagiarism, that is, when the infringer does not copy a block of work,
but instead lifts the abstract as a whole.
He states[56]:
“Upon any work…a great number of patterns of
increasing generality will fit equally well, as more and more of the incident
is left out. The last may perhaps be no more than the most general statement of
what the play is about, and at times consist only of its title; but there is a
point in this series of abstractions where they are no longer protected since
otherwise the playwright could prevent the use of his “ideas” to which, apart
from their expression, his property is never extended.”
He
then goes onto say that in regard to where to draw the line between the idea
and its expression:
“We have to decide how much and while we are
as aware as anyone of that the line, wherever drawn, will seem arbitrary, that
is no excuse for not drawing it; it is a question such as courts must answer in
nearly all cases.”[57]
This
has become known as the “abstractions test”, and has often been applied with
reference to the overall “look and feel” of a source work and the derivative
work.[58]
However accepting an overly broad scope for protecting the total concept and
feel has been recognised as having associated dangers. As Nimmer states
succinctly, “The touchstone of “total
concept and feel” threatens to subvert the very essence of copyright, namely,
the protection of original expression. ‘Concepts’ are statutorily ineligible
for copyright protection; for courts do advert to a works “total concept” as to
the essence of its protectable character seems ill-advised to the extreme”.
[59]
Taking
into account such concerns, the
“abstractions test” was built upon in the
Whilst
this test was devised in relation to copyright in software, it has since been applied
more widely. Whilst not referred to explicitly in CBS[64]
some of its key principles are applied.
In
Pelt v CBS Inc[65]
it was held that the format similarities of the plaintiff’s and defendant’s
television talk shows, including the use of an opening song, a moderator,
audience participation etc. are all generic and unoriginal ideas and thus not
protectable by copyright.
In
CBS Broadcasting Inc v ABC, Inc (“CBS”)[66] the plaintiff was the producer of the
extremely successful reality television show Survivor. It sued the defendant, alleging that the defendant’s show
I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here infringed
the copyright in its format.
Due
to the lack of case law in the reality genre, the court referred to precedents
regarding scripted and quasi-scripted programmes and other literary works.
Preska
J. first emphasised the requirement to consider each programme as a whole[67].
The
court identified the “total concept and
feel, theme, characters, plot, sequence, pace and setting”[68]
of each programme. The “total concept and feel” was distilled into two
components, namely the tone and production values.
After
a lengthy comparison of the various elements of each programme, the court
concluded the two programmes were substantially different in (inter alia) look
and feel, setting, characters, plot and music.
Preska
J summed up by stating:
“I find that plaintiff is not likely to prove
that a lay observer would consider the works as substantially similar to one
another. In undertaking this analysis, I am cognisant of the Supreme Court’s
admonition in Feist that copyright protection in a factual compilation is thin,
and by analogy, that copyright protection in a compilation of ideas must be
thin”.[69]
CBS has since been referred to as evidence that
in the
Whilst
the Altai test is not explicitly
referred to in the judgment, the tests’ elements are implicit in its rationale.
The abstraction and comparison principles are clearly applied. The filtration
doctrines are also used in the dismissal of the concept of a remote,
inhospitable locale and a show host as too generic, and the feature of
contestants having to eat worms in such a location as scènes-a-faire.
Preska
J. stated “I’m particularly benefited
from the parties educating me about the evolution of TV shows, that us, it is a
continual process involving borrowing liberally from what has gone before.“[71];
a further acknowledgment that the borrowing television show concepts is an
industry accepted practice that is legally permissible, within certain lenient parameters.
Therefore
in the
B.
The position in Canada
The
Canadian Copyright Act[72]
is was enacted in 1921 as a substantial copy of the 1911 UK copyright law, and underwent major amendments
in 1931, 1988, and, more recently, in 1993 and 1994 as a result of the North
American Free Trade Agreement and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”).
1.
Originality and Substantial Similarity
Every
original “literary, dramatic, musical and
artistic work” is protected, whatever may be the mode or form of its
expression.[73]
Like the
There
are conflicting authorities in
There
is authority in
2. Canadian Case Law
Hutton v Canadian Broadcasting
Corp[78]
(“Hutton”) is one of the
few examples of a Canadian court having to consider alleged copyright
infringement in respect of a unscripted television show format. The parties
jointly co-produced a music programme featuring elements such as a host, hit
countdown and music videos. The
plaintiff retained the copyright in it.
Several years after the cancellation of the show, the defendant produced
a similar show using similar characteristics.
The
court uses analysis similar to that prescribed by the Altai test, firstly setting
out the component parts of each programme, extracting those elements not
protected (including scènes-a-faire) and finally undertaking a qualitative and
quantitative measurement of the copying that has occurred. Despite acknowledging the similarities
between the show, the court found no infringement had occurred, because: (1) a
large number of the similarities were found to be unprotected; and (2) the
dramatic tone of the two shows were entirely different (not that this in itself
is a barrier to a finding of infringement).
In
addition to the holding that the nature or medium of expression was largely
immaterial, the Court of Appeal, echoing the “look and feel” test used in CBS, stated “the requirement of substantive similarity must be apparent when viewing
the works as a whole”.[79]
This
case stated that though the components of the allegedly infringing work were
unoriginal, the mere arrangement of such components was sufficient to meet the
“originality” requirements of the Canadian Act. The court subscribed to the
threshold of the “sweat of the brow” doctrine.
In
Arbique v Gabriele[80]
the plaintiffs had created a proposal for a television series involving
re-enactments of famous criminal trials. The series included features such as a
host, panel of experts, and telephone voting.
They submitted it to several broadcasters and production houses ,
including the one the defendant worked for, in the hope of a commission, but
were met with rejections. A few years later a series was broadcast, written by
the defendant. The plaintiff sued the
defendant for copyright infringement.
The
court held no infringement had occurred, concluding that on analysis of the
similarities and differences in the programmes there was no substantial
similarity.
However
this case has been criticised for being inconsistent with Hutton in that the
court did not explicitly apply the filtration step. [81]
In
the most recent Canadian recent case of Productions
Avanti Ciné-Vidéo c. Favreau[82]
the issue before the court was “what constitutes a substantial element of a
dramatic work”. The court found that copyright subsisted not only in the
characters featured in the fictional television series but also in the
integrated expression of all elements comprising the show, and that
infringement had occurred. The “copying” consisted of reproduction of visual
and audio elements including costumes, mannerism, décor, opening presentation,
all the quirks of language and characteristic expressions.[83]
This does indicate that a sufficiently detailed reality format could still gain
protection in
So
to summarise the Canadian position, dramatic formats are not precluded from
copyright protection necessarily. However like
III.
In
many laws of the civil system, a general statement of protected categories is
followed by a list of examples of protected works. The German Law of Copyright[85]
follows this approach. Article 1 of the German Law states that authors of
literary, scientific and artistic works shall enjoy protection for their works
in accordance with the Law. Article 2(1) sets out a list of items which are in
particular considered to constitute works within the meaning of Article 1:
these include the traditional categories, with some extra items such as
choreographic works and cinematographic works. Article 2(2) limits the scope of
protection by stating that personal intellectual creations alone shall
constitute works within the meaning of the law; that is only original works
qualify for protection.
In
an early case the plaintiff presented a choreographic and stage presentation
based on Hieronymus Bosch’s painting “The Hay Waggon”, and recorded the
presentation in words and sketches. It was held that the presentation
constituted a personal intellectual creation within the meaning of article 2(2)
of the 1965 Law. It was held it was not necessary that the work had to fit
precisely into one of the categories of article 2(1) of the Law; these
categories were merely illustrative.[86]
On the face of it this bodes well for the creator’s of formats, as it avoids
the need to attempt to artificially force the characteristics of a format into
the traditional definitions of a literary or dramatic work.
2. German Case Law
The
Quizmaster[87]
case concerned an alleged copyright infringement in the format of a television
programme called the “Dalli Dalli” show.
The
lower court took the view that there could exist copyright in the form and
manner in which the material was collected and arranged, and that the programme
had the required degree of creative originality to be protected as a language
work under Art. 2(1). The word format
was not used, but the decision in effect granted protection to the show’s
format.
However
on appeal the Federal Court of Justice took a less favourable view, stating:
“When entertainment programmes combine
performances of music, songs, stage scenes, reports, interviews and activities
involving announcements and show direction, there is invariably a lack of any
form-giving unity…Thus only the individual performances in an entertainment
programme can each have the character of a work in the particular case”.
This
requirement for “form-giving unity” is echoed in the NZ Green decision.
In
comparison, in relation to fictional works, German courts have accepted that
original invented characters, setting and plot may be granted copyright
protection:
“In a stage work not only the actual version
of the text or the immediate moulding of an idea are protected by copyright
from being borrowed by a third party. The insertion of a particular idea into a
plot may in itself be capable of copyright protection, independent from the
actual formulation into words, just as the course of the action with its
dramatic conflicts and climaxes, the arrangement of the acts and scenes, and
the allocation of the roles of the actors and their characteristics may enjoy
protection.”[88]
The
recent case of L’Ecole des Fans [89]
affirmed the court’s distinction between fictional works and unscripted reality
based shows. The plaintiff alleged the
copyright in their format of a children’s television show was infringed.
Similar aspects included target age group, a showmaster, children singing
pre-prepared songs, parents in the audience, pop star appearances and gifts for
the children at the end of the show.
Until
this case, protection of formats was mostly rejected owing to a lack of
originality, so format owners were
hopeful that this case regarding a formerly unknown format would acknowledge
that in some circumstances formats could gain copyright protection.
The
plaintiff did not claim infringement of the copyright of certain transmissions
of the show, but rather of the general format of the show. Protection for the
format of a TV show under the Copyright Act could be sought only if such a
format was a protected work (“geschūztes Werk”) within the scope of Art. 2
of the Copyright Act. Whether or not a TV format constituted such a work was
the decisive issue of the case.
The
court stated it was important to draw a distinction between episodes of a TV
series, which were characterised by a continuing plot creating a fictional
world of its own and therefore linked by content, and TV shows, which were
linked by elements of form.
A
programme format was defined by the court as the totality of all its
characteristic features which are capable of acting as a general mould shaping
each single show. Such elements include the title, logo, sequence of events,
specific way of presentation, certain participants, the use of key phrases, set
design, and style and tone of shooting. The format enables an audience to
easily identify each programme, irrespective of the varying content, as part of
a series.
It
was held that a work protected by copyright can only be the result of the
creative conception of a particular subject or material, not a mere direction
for the shaping of similar different subjects or materials, which are
independent of its content, even if this would result in a particular
achievement or performance. The court
found that a format is a tool which, even though it may be original, has no
direct link with the created end product, and that copyright law can only
protect the result of processing certain material, not its mere pattern of
production. It was therefore held the format of a TV show did not constitute a
protected work within the meaning of Art . 2. [90]
It
is difficult to follow the court’s distinction between protected TV series with
on-going plots and formatted television shows which remain unprotected, even
though created with the same level of investment of financial, intellectual and
creative resources.
Of
all the jurisdictions we have discussed, despite its inclusive definition of
works,
IV.
WHAT ARE THE LIKELY CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LAW
OF COPYRIGHT IF PROTECTION FOR FORMATS IS GRANTED?
Whilst
not necessarily precluded, in practice copyright protection for reality
television formats is scant to non-existent in all of the jurisdictions
reviewed. This is due to the difficulty of firstly proving the existence of a
copyright work (whether a format is a work in itself or a substantial part of
an underlying copyright work), and secondly proving substantial reproduction of
the “work”.
It
is submitted the likely consequences for the law of copyright if protection for
formats is granted is dependent upon the way such protection comes about.
A. Protection by legislation
There
was outrage in the international entertainment industry after the Green decision. In the
The
draft bill, which was, not surprisingly, sponsored by broadcasters and
production companies, provided for an amendment to the definition of “literary
works” to include programme formats. A “programme format” was defined as “an outline scheme or plan for programmes
intended to form a series or serial which is sufficiently individual that the
programmes produced in accordance with it would be recognised as having been
made from it”.[91]
The
concern that was expressed was that any definition of format will be likely to encompass very simple programming
ideas, which would effectively mean that if the Bill were passed such ideas
would be monopolised for the duration of the copyright. It was decided that to
grant a format right would be a case where ideas rather than their expression
would be protected.
This
would certainly have been in contravention of the provisions of the Berne
Convention, which grants protection to the expression of a literary work,
rather than the idea of it.[92]
Futhermore,
the bill was drafted so as to grant protection to formats prior to a programme
actually being made.[93]
At
the time of the Bill it was noted that another live issue was the potential
introduction of a tort of unfair competition in the
It
is submitted that the refusal of the
B. Protection pursuant to existing laws
As
mentioned above, the decision of Green was
received unhappily by format owners, and it has often been cited as evidence
that no copyright protection will be given to formats per se. Instead a format will be required to meet the
traditional requirements of either a literary or a dramatic work.
However
McDBridge and Lane rightly note that since the Green decision there has been a change in the legislative
definition of “dramatic work” in both
the
In
the NZ and
Therefore
for a subset of dramatic works, reducing the work to writing to gain copyright
protection was essential.[98]
In
contrast, in both current Acts, copyright is stated not to exist in a literary
of dramatic work “unless and until it is
recorded, in writing or otherwise.”[99]
(emphasis added).
Therefore
in order for copyright in a work to crystallise, there is no longer any need to
prove written fixation in respect of any dramatic work. Recording by other
means is now explicitly accepted as a mode of fixation. Therefore if a format
of a television show has sufficient unity to allow repeat performance, and is
recorded in some way that allows an audience (and the court) to recognise an
identifiable pattern and structure, it is arguable that copyright protection could be sought by virtue of it.
This
would accord with Gallen J’s suggested interpretation of a “dramatic work” in Green. That is, if a dramatic format is
sufficiently structured to be recognisable over a series, it should be
protected. However if NZ was to alter its interpretation of what constitutes a
dramatic work, for the same reasons as outlined in clause A above, it could be
to the net detriment of NZ television producers.
C. Continued protection through contract and
business etiquette
As
mentioned in Part I of this paper, formats can be and are protected from copying
in other ways. People working on such television
shows are often required to execute confidentiality agreements. Their contracts may contain restraint of
trade provisions. Format owners will trademark programme names. Therefore
protection from breach of confidence, trademark legislation, as well as passing
off, the Fair Trading Act and (where applicable) unfair competition be
obtained.
Format
agreements that are entered into between format owners and producers are actually
hybrid documents which serve the dual purpose of licensing the format, and
providing consultancy services from the format owner to the producer. For the reasons outlined above, the format
owner is selling a right to use a format that is arguably not legally protected
in any event. However, more importantly,
what in fact the agreement does is franchise what IP does exist and provide
know-how and expertise that otherwise would cost the producer in terms of
development and trial and error. In simple terms, what they are buying is a
recipe together with all the necessary ingredients.
Furthermore,
in April 2000 the Format Recognition and Protection Association (“FRAPA”) was
formed. Its aim is to ensure that format
rights are respected by the industry. It is no surprise that the association’s
members include some of the world’s most successful format creators, producers,
distributors and broadcasters.[100]
It runs a format registration database and a mediation scheme. FRAPA is
attempting to introduce acceptable business practices and conduct for fair
competition, and acts as a lobby group for legal recognition of format rights.
CONCLUSION
Tarantino noted “It
is difficult to stand on the shoulders of giants if those shoulders are clad by
armoured spikes which discourage loitering”.[101]
Whilst few would
argue that reality television formats are a genre that greatly benefit humanity
and its progress, in their own unique way they are extremely culturally
significant.[102]
It appears that all
jurisdictions discussed implicitly recognise a difference between the level of
protection granted to fictional works and unscripted reality programming. It is
submitted this is because of the latter’s unscripted nature, it is to a larger
extent out of the hands of the producer and more a creation of circumstance and
chance.
If we keep in mind
that one of the aims of copyright is universally accepted to be to provide
incentive to creators, it therefore follows that there is less reason to expand
copyright to protect productions where the creator has less control over the
content in the finished work.
Furthermore, as
pointed out in the Privy Council decision of Green, “The protection which copyright gives creates a monopoly and
“there must be certainty in the subject
matter of such monopoly in order to avoid injustice to the rest of the world.””[103]
It is submitted
that rather than extended copyright to protect such productions, the evolution
of contractual arrangements and accepted business etiquette manages the
international format market quite adequately.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cooper, Daniel, Similarity Between Television Series
Results in Action for Copyright Infringement, (1999), 13 World Intellectual
Property Report 147
Durie, Robyn, Programme Formats – Consultative Document
Issued, E.I.P.R., 1994, 16(7), D183-184
Eickmeier, Frank
and Von Have, Harro, Statutory Protection
of Television Show Formats, Ent. L.R. 1998, 9(1), 9-15
Fiore and Rogoway, Reality Check, Los Angeles Lawyer,
July-August 2005, http://www.agsk.com/Articles/74_Reality%20Check.pdf
Frankel and McLay, Intellectual Property in NZ, LexisNexis
NZ Limited, 2002
Laddie, Prescott
&
McDBridge and Lane,
The Protection of Formats under English
Law: Part I, Ent. L.R. 1990 1 (3), 96-102
Pilny, Karl H,
Stuckley-Clarke,
Jennifer, Remedies for the
Misappropriation of Creative Ideas, E.I.P.R. 1989, 11(9), 333-337
Tarantino, I’ve Got This Great Idea for a Show…” –
Copyright Protection for Television Show and Motion Picture Concepts and
Proposals, (2004) 17 IPJ 189
Vahrenwald,
Vaver, David, Essentials of Canadian Law, Intellectual
Property Law,
[2] Celebrities will often be paid to be
on such shows, however ordinary people are not paid anything at all.
[3] Documentaries are shot in a more
objective style, hence there is less audience empathy and more detachment from
on-screen events.
[4] Indian Idol
has recently commenced production.
[5] A format owned by Endemol and
originating in the
[6] A format owned by FremantleMedia and
originating in the
[7] A format owned by Celador and
originating in the
[8] A format owned by BBC and
originating in the
[9] For example telephone revenue,
merchandising, publishing and overseas distribution sales of the finished
programme.
[10] Idol and Popstars, Wife Swap and Trading Spouses, Super Nanny and Nanny 911, Little Angel and Demons to Darlings.
[11]
[12] McDBridge
and Lane, The Protection of Formats under
English Law: Part I, Ent. L.R. 1990 1 (3), 96-102 at 96
[14] Touchdown Productions Limited has
recently sold the formats Total Recall
and The Chair to several overseas
countries. That said, NZ remains a net importer of formats.
[15] Section 1 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988 (
[16]
Sections 1(1), 5(2), 6(6), 7(6), 8(2) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (
[17] Ladbroke (Football) Ltd v William Hill (Football) Ltd [1964] 1 All ER 465
[18] Elanco
Products Ltd v Mandops (Agrochemical Specialists) Ltd [1980] RPC 213 (EWCA) and
Bleiman v News Media (
[19] 45 F 2d 119, 121 (2d Cir 1930)
[20] Wham-O MFG Co v Lincoln Industries [1984] 1 NZLR 641 (CA)
[21] [1994] 2 NZLR 673 at 679 (CA)
[22] Ladbroke (Football) Ltd v William Hill (Football) Ltd [1964] 1 All ER 465 (HL)
[23] (1913) 29 TLR 570
[24] Ibid at 571. (in this case the
plaintiff was successful due to substantial similarity).
[25] Ibid
[26] Rees v Melville (1914) Mac.G.Cop.Cas. 168
[27] Bonz Group (Pty) Ltd v Cooke [1994] 3 NZLR 216, 220
[28] [1990] 2 NZLR 565
[29] (1916) 2 Ch 601
[30] Ibid at 608-609
[31] Wilson v BCNZ
2 NZLR 565 at 572
[32] (1916) 2 Ch 601 at 606
[33] [1989] 3 NZLR 18 (PC)
[34] It should be noted Green was decided
under the 1962 Act, which allowed a work to be both a literary and a dramatic
work. Today, under the 1994 Act, the categories appear to be mutually
exclusive.
[35] Francis Day and Hunter Ltd v Twentieth Century Fox Corporation Ltd [1940] AC 112 (PC)
[36] Green
v Broadcasting Corp of New Zealand [1988] 2 NZLR 490 at 497
[37] Ibid at 498
[38] Green
v Broadcasting Corp of New Zealand [1988] 2 NZLR 490 at 509.
[39] Green
v Broadcasting Corp of New Zealand
[1989] 3 NZLR 18 (PC)
[40] As Rose points out, this is legally
incorrect because the scripts would have been protected as literary works, if
a substantial amount had been copied.
[41] (No. 2) [2000] EMLR 67; Affirmed in TVNZ Ltd v Newmonitor Services Ltd [1994] 2 NZLR 91
[42] Rose, David, Format Rights: A Never-Ending Drama (Or Not), Ent. L.R. 1999,
10(6), 170-174 at 172
[43] Ibid at 368
[44] [2004]
EWHC 2362 (CH) at para.82-83. The similarities were in the sets, lighting,
background noise, cutting to the relations of contestants in the audience, the
destruction of cheques and the use of a glass-sided box full of money.
[45] Corelli v Gray (1913) 29 TLR 570 and
[46] 1986. Section 9 protects against
misleading and deceptive conduct.
[47] Whilst an Australian case, Nine Films and Television Pty Ltd v Ninox
Television Ltd [2005] FCA 1404 includes an interesting analysis of the
comparisons and differences in two home makeover programmes, and concludes no
substantial similarity existed.
[49] 17 U.S.C. 1976
[50] These
are: (1) literary works; (2) musical works; (3) dramatic works; (4) pantomimes
and choreographic works; (5) pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; (6)
motiona pictures and other audio-visual works; (7) sound recordings; and (8)
architectural works.
[51] H. Rep., p. 51.
[52] Ibid
[53] MB
Nimmer, D Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright
(1997) Matthew Bender & Co Inc,
[54] Feist Publications Inc v Rural Telephone Service Co (1991) 499
[55] 45 F 2d 119 (2d Cir 1930)
[56] 45 F 2d 119, 121 (2d Cir 1930)
[57] Ibid at 122
[58] Knitwaves, 71 F 3d., 996 (1995).
Concerned the use of squirrel and leaf patterns on sweaters. Competitor
admitted it set out to create designs with the same “look and feel” as the
plaintiff’s. Designs found to be substantially similar.
[59] Nimmer, Section 1303[A][1][c]
[CHECK]
[60] 982 F 2d 693 (2nd Cir
1992)
[61] Ibid at 708 per Walker J
[62] These doctrines are
not without their critics. See Tarantino,
I’ve Got This Great Idea for a Show…
– Copyright Protection for Television Show and Motion Picture Concepts and
Proposals, 17 IPJ [date] at 202.
[63] Sony Pictures Entertainment Limited Inc v Fireworks Entertainment Group Inc, 156 F. Supp. 2d. 1148, 1158 (CD Cal 2001).
The plaintiff owned the copyright in the motion picture “Zorro” and the associated comic book. It brought an action against
the producer of the television series “Queen
of Swords”.it was held that “It is
only copying of copyrightable elements of a plaintiff’s work that is protected
under the Federal Copyright Act. The mere fact that a work is copyrighted does
not mean that every element of the work may be protected. Originality remains
the sine qua non of copyright; accordingly, copyright protection may extend
only to those components of a work that are original to the author”. (at
1156)
[64] Referred to in detail below.
[65] 30 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1639 (C.D. Calif.
1993)
[66] 2003,
[67] Ibid at 40
[68] Ibid at 14
[69] Ibid at 42
[70] Fiore and Rogoway, Reality
Check, Los Angeles Lawyer, July-August 2005, 34 http://www.agsk.com/Articles/74_Reality%20Check.pdf
[71] 2003,
[72] R.S.C. 1985
[73] Ibid, s. 5(1), s. 2
[74] CCH Canadian ltd v Law Society of
[75] Tele-Direct (Publications) Inc v American Business Information Inc [1996] 3 FCD 6 (FC).
[76] Kantel v Grant [1933] Ex CR 84
[77] Preston
v 20th Century Fox Canada Ltd (1990), 22 C.P.R. (3d) 242
[78] (1989), 102 A.R. 6 at 39 (Q.B.), affirmed (1992) 120
A.R. 291 (C.A.)
[79] Ibid at
48
[80] (1998), [1998] A.Q. No. 3794
[81] Tarantino, I’ve
Got This Great Idea for a Show…” – Copyright Protection for Television Show and
Motion Picture Concepts and Proposals, (2004) 17 IPJ 189 at 196 and 211
[82] (1999) 1 CPR (4th) 129
[83] Ibid at 146-147
[85] Urheberrechtsgesetz (UrgG)
[86] BGH, February 1985; (1985) GRUR 529,
referred to in
[87] Berlin Court of Appeal, FuR 1979,
150; prior to appeal case Federal Court of Justice, NJW 1981, 2055 Quizmaster.
[88] Federal Court of
Justice, GRUR 1959, 379 (as referred to in Eickmeier,
Frank and Von Have, Harro, Statutory
Protection of Television Show Formats, Ent. L.R. 1998, 9(1), 9-15, 11)
[89] Bundesgerichtshof (L’Ecole des Fans)
(I ZR 176/01) (Unreported, June 26, 2003); E.I.P.R. 2004, 26(7), N109-110
[90] The plaintiff also applied for an injunction under the
Act against Unfair Competition (“Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb”). This was refused, because there was no direct
competition between the German and French television stations. However in some circumstances this may well be
achievable. Eickmeier,
Frank and Von Have, Harro, Statutory
Protection of Television Show Formats, Ent. L.R. 1998, 9(1), 9-15 at 15
[91] Durie, Robyn, Programme Formats – Consultative Document Issued, E.I.P.R., 1994,
16(7), D183-184
[92] Article 2(1)
[93] It is submitted breach of confidence
would be a better remedy for copying of programme formats before they had been
made public.
[94] E.I.P.R. 1994 16(7), D183-184
[95] TRIPS,
article 3
[96] McDBridge and Lane, The Protection of Formats under English Law: Part I, Ent. L.R. 1990
1 (3), 96-102 at 100
[97] Section 48 of the
[98] CHECK This was not raised as a
potential stumbling block in Green.
[99] Section 15 of the NZ Act and Section
3(2) of the
[100]
Including FremantleMedia, Distraction Formats, 12 Yard,
[101] Tarantino, I’ve Got This Great Idea for a Show…” –
Copyright Protection for Television Show and Motion Picture Concepts and
Proposals, (2004) 17 IPJ 189 at 197
p.
198
[102] Indeed, at their respective times,
neither Shakespeare nor Aristophanes were regarded as high-brow.
[103] [1989] 2 All ER 1056, quoting Tate v Fullbrook [1908] 1 KB 821