Copycat TV shows court legal questions

Copycatting ideas from popular TV reality shows is more like unfair competition than copyright infringement, experts said at a symposium on Saturday.

The growing popularity of imported reality TV shows like I Am a Singer and Where Are We Going, Dad?, which Hunan Television bought from South Korean producers, has lured many local broadcasters to emulate and produce similar programs without authorization.

Reproduced series, including singing contests, and dating and game shows, have dominated weekend primetime for almost every major broadcaster in recent years, arousing public suspicions of copyright infringements.

Taking ideas from programs' formats, plot sequences and stage layouts falls outside the umbrella of China's Copyright Law, so they should be regulated by rules against unfair competition, said Zhang Guangliang, associate professor of intellectual property at Renmin University of China.

"Copyright protection has very little to do with unauthorized copycatting of TV shows," Zhang told China Daily during the symposium.

"Many people misunderstand and believe local broadcasters buy programs' copyrights when they actually buy formats, technological support or services related to the shows."

Zhang said the programs' originators and legitimate reproducers could sue unauthorized copycats under the protection of laws against unfair competition.

According to national laws, regular program ideas and TV series' plots haven't been included as part of the exclusive copyrights the originators are entitled to, but their incorporation will be considered in the future, Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court's IP division's presiding judge Zhang Xiaojin said.