How to protect an idea for a story?

[nym9]

NY State. Can an idea for a story be protected, the plot? Does it need to be published finished form, or only a summary treatment posted anywhere? If it can be protected, are there any services that do this, or can you just post it on any website that archives?

 

[quincy]

NY State. Can an idea for a story be protected, the plot? Does it need to be published finished form, or only a summary treatment posted anywhere? If it can be protected, are there any services that do this, or can you just post it on any website that archives?

Ideas cannot be copyright-protected. The best way to protect an idea is to not share your idea with others.

Once you have a creative and original work fixed in tangible form (your idea has been fleshed out and written down), then you could potentially register the copyright of your fleshed out work (first draft, characterizations, story line, plot development) with the U.S. Copyright Office. For information on registration, you can visit the U.S. Copyright Office's official website at: http://www.copyright.gov.

Again, however, the best protection for your story is to keep the idea for your story private until you have a developed work ready for publication, and then register this completed story prior to publication.

 

[nym9]

Again, however, the best protection for your story is to keep the idea for your story private until you have a developed work ready for publication, and then register this completed story prior to publication.

Thanks for the info. As an example, let's say in the past you kept your story ideas private, and years later you see the same story ideas in movies. So now you want to prevent that, you write on a website. Later you see your story that you wrote on the website, in a new movie. You didn't register or copyright it, but it is there on the site, still dated. Is this ownership enough to legally protect your story, and make a claim against the similar story?

 

[quincy]

First, anything you write down that is original and creative will be copyrighted once it is written. The copyright is automatic. So, while an idea is not copyrightable, you have copyright protection right off the bat for any original and creative material you fix in a tangible form (ie, words on paper, paint on canvas).

You can make a claim of infringement if you feel your work has been copied or has in another way infringed on your rights. In order to sue for infringement, however, your work must be registered. You are eligible to collect statutory damages from an infringer if your work was registered prior to the infringement (or within three months of publication of your work). If not registered in this "timely" fashion, you can collect actual damages (profits realized by your infringer, damages suffered by you).

With that said, there are also defenses to copyright infringement. One of the defenses to infringement is called "independent creation."

Because ideas are not protectible, anyone can come up with the same idea and develop that idea. Works based on the same idea may wind up being similar, even highly similar, while not being the same. If the one writer has never had any contact with the other writer or the other writer's work and can prove it sufficiently, an independent creation defense to infringement could defeat an infringement claim.

 

[nym9]

Great advice, can you just clear this part up:

If not registered in this "timely" fashion, you can collect actual damages

Does that mean if I register, but my registration isn't within three months of publication, I can't sue but I can collect damages?

 

[quincy]

Not exactly.

First, you must register your copyrighted work in order to sue for copyright infringement. This is a requirement. You can, however, wait for your work to be infringed before you register your work. You never have to register your work, unless you want to sue for infringement.

If you publish your copyrighted work, however, and do not register this work within three months of its publication, then you are limited in the types of damages you can collect should your work be infringed. Registration prior to infringement or within three months after publication (even if during this three-month period your work is infringed), you will be entitled to collect statutory damages and attorney fees. Statutory damages are from between $750 to $30,000 per infringed work (or as much as $150,000 per infringed work for especially egregious, willful infringement).

If you do not register your work within this three month period after first publication, then you can still sue for infringement after registering your work, but you will be limited to collecting only the actual damages that can be demonstrated (the demonstrated profits realized by your infringer or the demonstrated losses you have suffered as a result of the infringement).

Because actual damages may be difficult to prove, or the actual damages may be nominal or nonexistent, a copyright infringement suit filed against your infringer may not make financial sense to pursue - you would be spending more to sue than you could hope to collect. An award of statutory damages (those damages set by law), along with your attorney costs, makes an infringement suit a reasonable action to pursue.

That is one reason why registering your work prior to, or within three months of, publication is wise. Another reason why registration is wise is registration provides you with the presumption of ownership in the work. For a relatively small registration fee, you have important protection for your copyright work.

 

[nym9]

Thanks for that, I did some research and have two questions. If you register prior to infringement, are you required to prove it was published to claim someone copied it? Is being written on a website acceptable evidence?

And if you publish online without registering, then infringement, then register, your only evidence would be your story appeared first. Can an official, dated record of the material's existence be done with websites?

 

[quincy]

Thanks for that, I did some research and have two questions. If you register prior to infringement, are you required to prove it was published to claim someone copied it? Is being written on a website acceptable evidence?

And if you publish online without registering, then infringement, then register, your only evidence would be your story appeared first. Can an official, dated record of the material's existence be done with websites?

If your work is registered, then copied, you only have to show the date of registration and that your work was copied. With registration, you are the presumed owner of the work.

If your work is copied, then registered within three months of publication but after the infringement, you need to show that your work was copied and the date of your registration. But there can be more of an argument made over the infringement by your infringer (ie, who copied who). The registration after publication but within three months of publication entiles you to collect statutory damages, but you have left the door open for greater dispute by the infringer (ie, who created the work first).

Having your work appear on a website is proof of publication. Anything that shows you created your work before your infringer did can be used to support your claim of infringement. But, because dates can be manipulated on websites, in emails, in letters, and so on, the best proof you will have of the date of creation of your work will be with registration of your mark after its creation and prior to publication.

You are the presumed owner of the work with registration of your work but it is a rebuttable presumption.

 

[nym9]

dates can be manipulated on websites, in emails, in letters, and so on

Exactly, I don't know case history but it would seem flimsy.

If your work is registered, then copied, you only have to show the date of registration and that your work was copied. With registration, you are the presumed owner of the work.

That's interesting, I had assumed a response to a claim of infringement would be "it was never published it, therefore it could not be copied". If it's just the case of who registered first, it means whoever had the idea second, on their own, is still guilty (if similar enough). Which would seem to be a more common occurrence, at least more so than blatant copying.

Thanks for all the info, I'll be looking into registration. The only problem is I have multiple plots, maybe I will just cram them all into one lol.

 

[quincy]

Exactly, I don't know case history but it would seem flimsy.



That's interesting, I had assumed a response to a claim of infringement would be "it was never published it, therefore it could not be copied". If it's just the case of who registered first, it means whoever had the idea second, on their own, is still guilty (if similar enough). Which would seem to be a more common occurrence, at least more so than blatant copying.

Thanks for all the info, I'll be looking into registration. The only problem is I have multiple plots, maybe I will just cram them all into one lol.

If a work is not published or available for view, it would be hard to copy it. That works to an alleged infringer's benefit, should an infringement suit be filed against him over a similar work. An "independent creation" defense would be a viable defense.

Registration of a work just provides a presumption of ownership in the U.S. In the U.S., it is a rebuttable presumption.

Good luck with your story.