Kitchen Wars - Federal Court dishes out copyright ruling

Seven Network (Operations) Limited v Endemol Australia Pty Limited [2015] FCA 800

On 6 August 2015, the Federal Court dismissed an interlocutory application by Seven Network (Operations) Limited (Seven) to restrain the Nine Network (Nine) and production company Endemol from continuing to broadcast the kitchen reality TV show, The Hotplate.

Seven alleged that, by producing and broadcasting episodes of The Hotplate, Nine was infringing Seven's copyright in its program, My Kitchen Rules (MKR).

The dismissal by the Court of Seven's application means that the remainder of the first season of The Hotplate can continue to be broadcast (at least until the final hearing).

Seven's Case

The question before the Court was whether there existed a reasonable basis for Seven to argue that Nine had copied the format, or a large part of the format, used in MKR, such to warrant an urgent and immediate injunction, until a final determination is made by the Court after a full hearing.

According to Seven, each episode of The Hotplate produced by or on behalf of Nine reproduces in a material form:

key elements of...