The applicants submitted that (1) M had no real prospect of showing that the alleged similarities between the BBC show and his proposals were such as to give rise to any inference of copying and that was reinforced by the difficulties that M's case faced on the question of access; (2) M had no real prospect of establishing reproduction of a substantial part of any of his copyright works, since the similarities he relied on amounted to no more than the taking of ideas rather than the expression of any of his three works.