Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California

I am interested in revising an existing copyrighted character

I have been in the postproduction industry for the past 12 years and I am familiar with many aspects of the entertainment industry.

I am interested in revising an existing copyrighted character for the purpose acquiring a multiple film development deal. The goal is the revitalization of the brand. I feel my total concept is very viable and I want to protect my ideas if possible.

I want to be able to present the copyright holder with my overall vision. I don�t want to do all the work associated with a proposal only to get shut down or not be compensated for my Idea that can surely become a lucrative entity again.

My question deals with the proper step by step procedures on how to secure the purchase and development rights. In other words be able to develop my concept without fear of any other competitors.

I am aware that this may not even possible

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME


Asked on 11/30/04, 1:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Keith E. Cooper Keith E. Cooper, Esq.

Re: I am interested in revising an existing copyrighted character

Your first step should be to engage an experienced entertainment attorney to represent you and act as your intermediary with the copyright owner. Although California law does offer some protection to ideas (copyright law does not), only a copyright owner has the right to make derivative works.

If you want to sell your idea to the current owner, you will, of course, need to convince the owner that you have a workable idea (and will have to disclose some of what you have planned). Ideally, before making disclosures you will want to have some sort of nondisclosure/confidentiality agreement in place--but often entertainment companies will not sign such an agreement. If you have an attorney doing the submission and negotiations on your behalf, a production company is less likely to steal your idea without paying you something.

If you want to develop the idea yourself, you may not need to disclose specifics of your idea, but would need to work out some sort of license arrangement with the copyright owner. Again, you should have an attorney assist you and negotiate on your behalf.

A good entertainment or intellectual property attorney can advise you about the best approach to take once he/she knows the specifics of what you have in mind. The money you spend on an attorney now will be much less than you will spend later to sue to enforce your rights, particularly if your idea is successful.

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Answered on 12/03/04, 7:24 pm


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