The Legal Protection Of Television Program Formats

The television program format is provided for a series of common factors in the framework of the television programs, which is more abstract than the television program,but more concrete than the television ideas.With the development of television industries,many valuable television program formats come out.There are no laws to protect television program formats.In this area,there is great theoretical research and practical development.In this paper,by comparing the legislation and practice of the protection of the television program formats in foreign,by analysing the status quo and the legal protection of the plight of the television program formats,I provide the basic idea and concrete measure of the legal protection of the television program formats.In this article,by analyzing of the basic theory of the television program formats,by comparing the legislation and practice of the television formats in foriegn countries,Specifically,some countrys protect it by laws,in practice,some countrys protect it by self-discipline organizations to mediate the dispute of it,which bring forward the enlightenment to our countrys.Through the analysis of the source and plight of television program formats in our countrys,specifically,the copyright law only protects the expression of ideas rather than ideas itself,and television program formats is not its object,anti-unfair competition law fails to protect the television program formats because of lack of specific provisions,there are also some difficulties of the protection of the television programs formats by other laws.In the last,by absorpting the ways of the protection of the television program formats in foriegn countries,we should put television program formats as the object of copyright law, the content,the protection period,the reasonable restrictions to the right of television program formats can be adjacent to the provisions of other objects,also the protection of anti-unfair competition law as the supplement role and the protection of trademark law,contract law and other laws as the auxiliary role.