Wade and another v British Sky Broadcasting Ltd [2014] EWHC 634 (Ch), [2014] All ER (D) 103 (Mar)
The claimant musicians pitched The Real Deal, a music talent show, to the defendant (Sky). Sky did not commission the claimants’ show, but later commissioned and broadcast another musical talent show programme, Must be the Music. The claimants issued proceedings against the defendant for misuse of their confidential information. The Chancery Division, in dismissing the claim, held that Must be the Music had been created entirely independently. The various tell-tale indications relied on to show a link, individually and as a whole, did not amount to strong evidence to support the inference that aspects of Must be the Music had been derived from The Real Deal.
