The Format of the Result of Intellectual Activity as an Emerging Object of Intellectual Rights

Abstract

The article investigates the tendency of “formatization” of the results of intellectual activity that is also taking place in cross-border private law relations. On the basis of the analysis of foreign and Russian legal doctrines, jurisprudence and case law, the author comes to the conclusion about the independence of the format as a result of intellectual activity and about the possibility of using formats not only for audiovisual works, but also for some other categories of intellectual property regardless of protectability of the latter as objects of intellectual property rights. Taking into account the above, the author proposes a definition of the concept “format of the result of intellectual activity” that is generic in relation to the concept of “format of an audiovisual work”. The author substantiates the system of concepts included in the scope of the generic concept “format of the result of intellectual activity.” The conclusion is made that the concept of the format of the result of intellectual activity has a significant potential for development as an independent object of intellectual property.