Legal Issues On The Variety Show Formats

Today,China has been involved in the wave of prosperous global transactions of variety show formats.Purchase or import overseas variety show formats' “copyright ”has become a mainstream path for domestic production of variety shows,and guarantees the high level of the quality of them.The titles of “Variety Show Formats' Copyright ” “the Import of the Copyright” “Copyrighted Programs” and the like are full of news reports and advertising and marketing of the programs.This article will let the specific content and form of transactions contract over variety show formats as the starting point,put the “variety show formats” under the perspective of copyright law.Clarify the “the copyright of the variety show format ”can not be established in the context of strict copyright law.The substance of the format is composed of tasks,rules,procedures and personnel arrangements and so on,all belongs to “idea” part in the idea/expression dichotomy.Thus the variety show format cannot constitutes the work that can be protected by the copyright law,can only be protected its legal interests as knowledge products.Currently,Purchase variety show formats' “copyright ”is not simply “licensing”,the owner of the variety show format will provide with idea,format,prop,production methods,methods of operation and consultancy services,and other kinds of things,and make all these series of program production a “package” to the buyer.Regardless of what kind of form the two parties consent,whether it's “Bible” “the consultancy” “the right to use program logo ” can be summed up as buying the“ programming method + program form”,The “programming method ”mainly be provided by services,and “Program form” often called “the program template” is introduced as knowledge products.Just because the program template is a knowledge product,very close to the object of intellectual property law,inducing many scholars to explore the legal protection in the direction of copyright law.Deep into the practice of making a variety show,variety show “program template”consists essentially of tasks,rules,personnel selection,process design,post-production strategies,practices,etc.Variety show's “artificial situation + spatiotemporal freedom + real record” determine the “program template” is impossible to write a fictional story and arrange the characters fate,etc.program template must be a framework,subjected to the “idea/expression dichotomy”,which can not be copyrighted.Otherwise,on the one hand,it will squeeze public spaces,put great restraint on the development and innovation of variety shows.On the other hand,it will become a huge challenge to the basic theory of the copyright system,exacerbate the alienation of the copyright system.Thus the competition law protection mode is the most appropriate way to protect the variety show format because it designated a “unfair imitation”bound.The competition law protection mode can seek a balance between total ban and free to imitate.It can both prevent the monopoly over “idea” brought about by copyright,hinder the fully competitive market and the free development of the variety show;and those who do not put appropriate human,material and financial resources into innovation,just direct copying competitors outcomes can be regulated.The type of unfair competition about commercial marks is the core of China's “Anti-Unfair Competition Law”,which need legislative amendments corresponding to the copyright protection needs.In addition,the market mechanism is the fundamental method to support the variety show format trade development,along with policy support and industry associations' self-discipline.