buttered toast, what is the name of your state or, if not in the US, what is the name of your country?
This one is a bit tricky.
My friend is going to try to pitch a show to nickelodeon, and the characters of my friend are legally copyrighted.
Before discussing any creative and original show idea your friend has for Nickelodeon, your friend will want to set up an appointment with Viacom's production division, TV and series development. Nickelodeon is a single business unit of Viacom Media Networks, which in turn is a division of Viacom International, Inc.
Your friend should NOT submit to the company any unsolicited idea. Your friend should have researched thoroughly the market for a show of his type. He needs to be educated about what is already being produced by Viacom, where and how his show fits in and fills a need. He should not go into any meeting without being able to answer any and all questions asked of him about his show.
Prior to the appointment with the production division, your friend probably will want to have drawn up non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements (preferably drawn up by an attorney). These should be signed by those with whom your friend will meet to discuss his show featuring his characters. There could be a refusal to sign the agreements (which is common), so your friend at that time will then have to decide whether he wishes to go ahead with the meeting or back out.
Without a signed agreement, any ideas your friend discloses when trying to market his show are at risk of being developed by others, even by those with whom he has spoken. Your friend should have his idea fleshed out enough (plot, character development, dialog, any or all plus more) and documented, so the idea is more than just a general show idea but can be copyrightable on its own.
All rights in his copyrighted characters will remain with him, absent any agreement signed by your friend that licenses or transfers some or all of his rights to another or others.
If my friend pitches the show to them is there some deal they can make to keep the copyrights and ownership of their characters while giving nickelodeon a new show simultaneously?
Yes. Your friend can license the use of his characters on his terms. Any licensing terms can be accepted and any licensing terms can be rejected. The terms can be negotiated.
Were both assuming that a special arrangement or agreement could be made where a sort of joint ownership would be created. Where nick would own the characters but so would my friend.
Is this possible? Can this be done? What does my friend need to expect?
Your friend's first biggest hurdle will be getting an appointment with Viacom to go over his idea for a new show using his characters. Your friend's second biggest hurdle will be having such a great, unique and well-developed idea for a show that Viacom wants to produce it.
It is recommended that your friend see an attorney in his area for a personal review of his plans and his goals.
