FRAPA preps producers’ guide to format protection

Format protection association FRAPA is preparing a guide to the legal options available to producers who think their IP has been infringed.

The guide will be part of a new report, being prepared by the industry body and law firm Baker & McKenzie, from FRAPA about the protection of format rights under international law.

The guide and report will launch next April, updating an earlier piece of research from 2011. It will examine the implications of over 40 judgments in IP disputes.

News of the report comes as IP protection is in the spotlight. An ongoing dispute between FremantleMedia prodco Abot Hameiri and Banijay Group is playing out and looks likely to end up in a UK court. Sources have told TBI of at least ten other cases in the international arena that could be made public or go legal.

“Many legal cases are centred on copyright law but, increasingly, format creators have looked beyond this and pursued claims for passing off, unfair competition and breach of confidence with great degrees of success,” said Eugene Arievich, partner at Baker & McKenzie.

“The 2017 report will consider these cases in detail and the protection available to media formats around the world.”

Missing Link Media’s Jan Salling (pictured), co-chair of FRAPA, said: “Given the escalation in the number of high-profile cases with which we’ve recently been involved, we firmly believe our 2017 report couldn’t be better timed for an industry desperate for clear, robust legal information.”