Talpa Media – the producer responsible for BBC programme The Voice – is set to enter a legal battle over the copyright for the show.
A legal dispute has been launched by Roy Barry, who claims to have registered “The Voice of America” as a talent show name and television concept in 2008.
His idea included the presence of professional judges hidden behind screens while listening to contestants perform, meaning that they would be unable to watch auditions.
Mr Barry released the idea on The Writers’ Vault – an American platform that television producers use to find ideas, giving any associated creator(s) money for adopted concepts.
His case relies on the fact that in March 2009 an official representative of The Entertainment Group (TEG) is alleged to have signed an agreement for the concept, but when the company went bankrupt they went to work for Talpa Media.
In 2010, Talpa began registering domain names for The Voice.
A spokesperson for Dutch production company Talpa Media said: “We robustly refute this spurious claim, which is completely untrue and baseless, and we will vigorously defend our format.”
The case will be going to a trial after an earlier hearing in July, held in Los Angeles, in which a Judge decided that Mr Barry had enough evidence to support his claim, despite Talpa Media’s attempts to dismiss the case.
The Voice is expected to air on ITV in the future, following its acquisition of the series from the BBC, though a US court will schedule a date for the trial next month and the decision may have an impact on rights.