I’m a writer and have a great idea for a script. How can I protect myself from story theft when pitching my idea to producers?
| Unfortunately, the law of copyright does not protect ideas. So if all you have is a clever idea, then the old legal adage applies: "The general rule of law is...knowledge, truths ascertained, conceptions, and ideas (are)...free as the air..." (International News Services v. Associated Press, 1918). However, what the law of copyright does protect is the expression of an idea fixed in tangible form. In other words, put your idea to paper in as much detail as possible. A story synopsis, a story treatment, a screenplay, a teleplay, a production bible are all expressions of ideas that benefit from copyright protection. Once you've expressed your idea in such a tangible form, there are a number of measures a writer may take to minimize the risk of story theft. For example, I always recommend that a writer register his/her material with a guild that offers such a service (the WGA, WGC and SARTEC all offer registration services for nominal fees). I also recommend registering copyright with the appropriate government office (in the U.S., it's the United States Copyright Office; in Canada, it the Canadian Intellectual Property Office). For a more thorough discussion on this topic, refer to my article entitled "Can Screenwriters Protect Themselves from Story Theft" by clicking here; and an interesting article in Screenwriter magazine by clicking here. |
