I recently spoke to two different people who said the same thing. "I have a great idea for a television show. How can I make sure the networks won't steal it?"
Here's the answer: You can't. That's right -- you can't protect your generic idea. Here's a generic idea example: Let's do a show about two single guys with women problems who move in together. Make them divorced and middle aged and you have The Odd Couple. Make one Charlie Sheen, add a child, and you have Two and Half Men. You can't protect an idea -- you can only copyright your expression of those ideas.
The only way to protect your idea is to develop it in as much detail as possible. You can't protect the idea of creating a movie about a dysfunctional suburban family, but when you license the movie rights to a novel and create a screenplay, you can copyright your version of the story. It might be "Revolutionary Road" or it might be "Ordinary People," but both films are fully copywritten expressions of ideas.
Look at television today -- how many different shows about cake making companies are on the air on different networks? Why aren't they suing each other? Because you can't copyright an idea. You can copyright a show about a specific cake company, like Staten Island Cakes or Cake Boss, but the idea of making a show set in a cake shop cannot be owned.
You may be thinking, "but I watch a lot of reality television and it sure looks like they need better ideas." I know. I work in that world every day. Believe me, it takes a great deal of effort and creativity to grow a simple idea into a concept, characters and setting that viewers will want to watch and can sustain itself over time. That's why the people who can do that with several different series over time make a great deal of money.
So don't just come up with generic ideas. Develop them into properties, and then you'll have something to sell.
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