| A television program format is an orginal and innovative structure or framework that is composed of a series of inter-related program elements and can be used as a model to produce a particular television program.With the development of television industry, high quality television program formats have emerged in large numbers in the world, which has created a highly profitable and promising television program format industry. A good television program format is the result of enormous amount of intellectual hard-working by the creators and usually requires heavy financing by the investors.Thus television program formats are entitled to legal protection.Rights concerning television program formats are intellectual property rights or intangible property rights, and fall into the scope of IPR protection. In Western countries where television industry is highly advanced, a legal protection system centering on copyright laws and laws against unfair competition, supported by trade mark law, patent law, commercial secrets law and etc, and a non-legal protection system centering on self-disciplining civil organizations,have come into existence, with an aim to protecting television program formats.Various means of protection exist and practical experience in jurisdiction abound.But in China, a specific law is lacking for the protection of television program formats, and industry self-disciplining as an effective complement is rather inadequate. As a result, China's television industry is faced with serious problems such as rampant program cloning and low orginality, which are hindering the healthy development of the industry and the implementation of the national cultural strategy. This thesis, by using comparative analysis and linking theory with practice, attempts to put forward some legal proposals and concrete measures for the protection of television program formats in China, based on an analysis of current television program format protection practices in foreign countries, legal and jurisdictional practices in particular, and an analysis of the current situation of television program format protection in China, with China's television industry in general in the background.Chinese copyright protection law protects the expression of ideas instead of the ideas themselves.In China, television program formats are regarded as an idea only, and therefore not subject to copyright protection.Besides, Chinese law against unfair competition does not include an article concerning protection of television program formats, and does not count cloning of television program formats as an unfair competition conduct. Other laws are also ineffective as far as protection of television program formats is concerned.After a comparison between China and foreign countries in legal practices in this respect, this article proposes that television program formats, in comparison with traditional expressions, are a special expression of ideas that possesses originality, can be copied in a tangible form,fully meets the requirements in copyright law, and therefore entitled to protection under copyright law. The article also aims to clarifying the legal definition of television program formats, demarcation between their copyright and neighboring rights, the protection period, and identification of infringements and their legal obligations.The thesis states that television program formats should be a subject of consideration in the modification of law against unfair competition, and before their status is clearly defined, law against unfair competition should be applied to provide protection for them.The thesis also proposes addition of an honesty and credibility principle as a general clause in law against unfair competition, so as to cover the inappropriate competition act of television program format cloning and clarify its legal responsibility. Meanwhile, trade mark law, patent law and the commercial secrets articles in the law against unfair competition, should also constitute an integral part of the legal system for the protection of television program formats. Furthermore, the article advocates promoting civil organizations like trade associations, raising the legal awareness of industry workers, enhancing self-control and self-discipline, so as to create a legal protection system with copyright law and law against unfair competition as major means of protection, and trade mark law and patent law as additional means of protection, as well as a non-legal protection system centering on civil organizations and perfect industry self-disciplining, in order to effectively protect China's original television program formats, boost innovation in the television industry, and promote the implementation of the national cultural strategies.
|
PDF Full Text Request