How FRAPA brought order to formats chaos
As format rights protection agency FRAPA approaches its 25th anniversary, board members Phil Gurin and Jan Salling discuss the challenges posed by big tech and AI as it works to ensure its relevance and success.
FRAPA board members Phil Gurin and Jan Salling
“You have to be able to protect your format to be able to monetise it. If nobody is willing or able to protect your format, you can’t get paid. Period.”
This statement by Jan Salling, board member of rights protection agency FRAPA and head of BBC Studios Nordics, encapsulates 25 years of striving to bring order to the chaotic formats business. During that time, FRAPA has introduced tools like its registration service to certify original ideas and an analysis tool to determine whether a show is a copycat.
“It’s our mission to make everyone understand that if you’ve created an idea, it’s intellectual property you should own, protect and monetise,” adds fellow board member Phil Gurin.
Despite the tools FRAPA has developed, Salling believes its most effective weapon is reputation and public relations, especially in cases like those that emerged in China in 2017.
“We have found that legal protections, stamps, and certificates are valuable, but public shaming has been the most efficient tool in fights. It hurts their business, they take it seriously and things get rectified. It’s one of the reasons we’re still here after 25 years,” says Salling.
As FRAPA nears its 25th anniversary in 2025, the industry is grappling with tough conditions, with many adopting a ‘survive to 25’ mindset. Gurin, however, is more direct: “It’s over. What was is over. What will be will be something new. If you’re creative, smart and entrepreneurial, you’ll find ways to succeed.”
Gurin emphasises the inevitability of change in entertainment. “There was vaudeville, silent movies, talkies, television and streamers. There will be something new. Maybe it’s direct-to-consumer, maybe it’s branded content. Don’t cling to the past. Maybe the next generation will consume content differently than we did, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
The Traitors US, hosted by Alan Cumming
One of the biggest challenges today is the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, which Gurin believes could eventually create copycat formats to hits such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire? or The Traitors.
“I think it’s already happening,” he says. “I can’t give you chapter and verse on specific cases, but I can tell you there are nefarious actors who will do anything, and if they could rig the system and say, ‘Well, we’re kind of like it but not enough,’ they will.
“But we must keep creating. The independents have competed against big companies. Now they might have to compete against AI.”
Gurin also worries about the next generation’s ability to distinguish between reality and AI. “I fear the next generation won’t have the tools to discern between real and artificial content. But as long as we create better ideas than AI, people will buy and watch them.”
Salling, however, is less alarmed about AI’s impact. “A year ago, there was a lot of fear, but it’s stabilised now. I’m not terrified and I don’t think anyone should be.
“What is going to be interesting for the industry is all these 17-year-olds who are able to use AI tools to generate amazing results. They’re going to be the new generation of TV executive.”
For Salling, the greater threat comes from major players or territories undermining format rights. “If technology absorbs everything and one big player or territory says, ‘We don’t give a shit about format rights,’ that becomes a global issue. Protecting an idea is difficult and it only survives through solidarity.”
FRAPA’s future depends on maintaining that solidarity. “The management board is working hard to keep FRAPA relevant for another 25 years. We’re discussing how to transform and stay effective in this new era because everything has changed since 2000.”
Salling advocates reducing FRAPA’s membership fees to help build a global community. “What if our members from all over the world became hundreds of thousands? With more members, our voice would be stronger and we’d be more powerful and relevant. We could protect the industry better.”
Gurin returns to the core issue: protecting IP. “At the core of any entertainment business is intellectual property. Without protection, you can’t monetise it, and without monetisation, there’s no business. If everyone rips each other off, there’s no library value, no distribution and no growth. Now we understand that.”
Both Salling and Gurin emphasise FRAPA’s code of conduct, which is translated into 18 languages and aims to build a global community of likeminded professionals.
Looking ahead, Gurin believes it’s essential to connect to the next generation of creators. “For many, it’s like being in a Dickens novel, with faces pressed against the glass, looking inside where it’s warm and cosy and they’re having a good time. How do we get in there? That’s part of FRAPA’s mission for the future,” he says.
