May 2005
Protecting Format Rights: "The Apprentice" accused of Pilfering
The producers of "The Apprentice" are being sued by the production company, Velocity Entertainment Group, for allegedly ripping off their show format.
Proving that someone or some company has stolen your show format is extremely difficult. After a slew of recent disputes over TV formats, it is claimed by the chief principal of Velocity Entertainment Group, that he devised and developed a reality TV show entitled "CEO", which involved entrepreneurial contestants competing against each other in the corporate bid to win the job of a lifetime with the mighty Donald Trump, wrapped up with a very attractive six-figure salary. Various communications apparently followed, which resulted in the proposed show format being rejected. However, approximately three years later, NBC announced "The Apprentice" which is consistent with the make-up of the earlier format and which has and is doing extremely well in terms of viewer's ratings and gross revenue.
BRIFFA Comment:
There are no formal legal rights to protect show formats in the UK. Similar to the current law on privacy in the UK, the usual gamut of heads of claim in this type of scenario include breach of copyright, confidence, trade marks, rights to data protection and breach of contract. Case law is few and far between, despite quite a few legal battles over the last couple of years, including actions between the producers of "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!" and "Survivor" and "Castaway", "Pop Idol" and "X Factor", "Wife Swap" and "Trading Spouses", "The Chair" and "The Chamber", " and most recently, "You Are What You Eat" and "Eat Yourself Whole".
The courts across the board have been reluctant to make space for the format wars, finding a TV format to be solely an idea, which is essentially non-copyrightable. Copyright and the other possible heads of claim mentioned above are themselves hard to pin down at the best of times. With mediation, the big players will often come to some kind of compromise. If the courts are faced with deciding the fate of a format war, they will look at the similarities as well as the differences between the shows. Although tradition dictates a cautious approach, the increasing volume of cases may put pressure on a change in the law in this area. With show formats and their distinctive elements taken separately or as a whole package becoming more valuable along with the inherent possibilities of worldwide distribution, the fight is on for recognised legal protection.