Copyright

Do you own the copyright to your idea? Do you know the difference between owning a copyright and owning the rights to your work? You should consult an attorney before signing anything regarding your work or idea. But you can save yourself time and money if you understand the basics.

"Copyright" is literally "the right to copy." If you are the copyright owner of a work (whether it is a story, book, play, song, or film) you have the sole right to make copies of the work, authorize adaptations, and also have the right to allow others to do so. No one can make copies without the copyright holders permission.

There are two key points. 1. You do not need to publish your idea. According to the U.S. copyright office, a "copyright is secured automatically when the work is created,and a work is “created when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time." This means your idea can't be copyrighted when it's in your head, but can be once you write it down or record it, even if it has not been published.

2. You cannot copyright titles, short phrases, anything not fixed (for example, unrecorded improv comedy sketches) or ideas. So for your own protection, write your ideas down, or film them on your flip cam, or record them on CD.

It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with copyright basics. The U.S. Copyright office has a number of publications available online. Just go to: http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

At some point you may want to assign rights to your work to publishers, producers, or film or television companies so they can make your program. Know what rights you're giving them, for how long, and how much money they're paying. Do not assign or give away your copyright.

If you are successful in the business you may at some point be asked to create a show as a "work for hire." For example, if you're a staff producer at a network you probably do not own the copyright to your show, unless you negotiated that right in your contract. I will discuss that in a future post.