“Amore Criminale”

• 1. A TV format is protectable under Art. 1 of the Italian Copyright Act as a work of art when it consists of a sketch of a programme, i.e. a plot outline defined in its essential elements, generally intended for a serial TV production, as resulting from a brief description.

• 2. A modicum of creativity is necessary. This requires the identification of, at least, the structural elements of the story, as well as its space and time collocation, the main characters and their personalities and the main thread of the plot.

• 3. Creativity cannot be excluded merely for the reason that the work consists of simple ideas and notions, belonging to the intellectual heritage of the person having experience in the art.