ABC defends 'rip-off' claims
- Published: 15 August 2008 17:50
- Author: Michael Rosser
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 15 August 2008 17:50
- Reader Responses
US producer ABC Studios has defended accusations that it encouraged producers to rip-off formats - branding a 'leaked memo' as "misconstrued and misread".
The studio came under fire earlier this week after a memo was leaked to US blogs in which ABC Studios executive vice-president Howard Davine wrote: "What is appealing in the format may be nothing more than a general underlying premise, which, in and of itself, may be no reason to license the underlying property."
International formats body Frapa issued a statement yesterday which said it was "unacceptable" for ABC to claim that executive producers and showrunners should "carefully scrutinise" whether licensing foreign formats was "necessary or appropriate".
But the studio has broken its silence to defend the comments from Davine and stated: "The intention of the memo has been greatly misconstrued and misread. ABC Studios has been and continues to be committed to the protection of intellectual property and rights holders, as our standards and business practices have demonstrated."
