Frapa updates online registration system

Global format rights protection agency Frapa has set up a new module in its online Format Registration System (FRS).

Phil Gurin

The new module allows Frapa members to update and modify elements in a previously registered format, get an overview of all the changes that have been made over a given period of time and upload supporting video material.

The online version of Frapa’s FRS provides format creators with a certificate confirming the date on which they registered their IP.

The move comes in response to a call from IP experts and lawyers for Frapa to provide “an island of trust” for a global formats community still besieged by theft and plagiarism.

Frapa co-chair Phil Gurin, president, unscripted and alternative at Global Road Entertainment (fka IM Global Television), said: “While registering your format with Frapa cannot guarantee you won’t be ripped off, it does offer proof of when you personally put those words and ideas on paper.

“Frapa is not a commercial venture. We have no corporate ties and take no stand on the quality or value of registrations. But we do provide an ironclad repository that tells the world, ‘Here’s the idea, and I’ve been working on it since this date.’ In future mediation or litigation, that could serve as a valuable link in the chain of establishing your ownership.”