A&E Television Networks v Trossart Pty Ltd

A&E Television Networks (A&E) sought an interlocutory injunction against Trossart Pty Ltd (Trossart) to restrain Trossart from broadcasting a television program titled "The Real Housewives of Melbourne" (the Program). A&E alleged that the Program infringed its copyright in a television series titled "The Real Housewives of Orange County" (the Original Series). The application was heard in the Federal Court of Australia by Justice Terry Williams.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the Program, as depicted in the trailer and available episodes, had sufficient similarity to the Original Series to constitute copyright infringement. This required the court to consider the nature of copyright protection in television programs, specifically whether copyright extended to the underlying concept or format of a series, or only to the specific expression of that concept in the original work. The court also had to determine if the alleged similarities were substantial enough to warrant injunctive relief at this interlocutory stage.

Justice Williams reasoned that copyright in a television program subsists in the specific expression of ideas, not in the general ideas or concepts themselves. He found that while both series featured a similar premise of following the lives of affluent women in a particular city, the specific characters, storylines, and creative expression within each series were distinct. The court applied the principle that mere similarity in theme or subject matter does not amount to copyright infringement. The trailer and episodes of the Program did not demonstrate a substantial taking of the copyrightable expression of the Original Series.

Consequently, A&E failed to establish a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits to justify the grant of an interlocutory injunction. The court therefore dismissed A&E's application for an injunction.