I have an idea for a sitcom. I would like to get the idea protected. Later to become a novel or feature film. What initial step must I take. How much will this cost?
Unfortunately, you cannot copyright an idea, and you cannot protect it through intellectual property law, either. Copyright is reserved for the protection of printed matter and expressions, (and patents are reserved for inventions)--but ideas cannot be protected, so you must first put your idea in printed/expression form to copyright.
While the idea is the first critical step, without an identifiable embodiment of the idea there just is no intellectual property protection. Get it in some expressed form to protect it. Once you have done that, the resources provided here for copyright info will be helpful to you. By the way, You do not need to do anything special to claim a copyright...it exists immediately upon creation, and you may simple write it with the encircled "c" to mark it as such. However, in order to sue for copyright infringement you would need to have a federally registered copyright. The filing fee is only $45, and that's where the resources cited in these other answers will come in handy for you.
answered 1 year ago
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Copyright is basically a legal term which describes the right to a literary effort by the creator. It includes a wide range of works such as novels, poems, plays, newspapers, computer games, films, etc. You can obtain a copy right for any type of work, including your sitcom idea by registering at the copyright office which can be done by paying a fee. If you are a resident of United states, The following link is to the U.S Copyright office and you can obtain all the information you need from here.
www.copyright.gov
answered 1 year ago
You need to register with US copyright office to obtain the copy rights of your idea. You have to fill out a form and deposit a certain fee for that. To get all the pertinent information, visit the following two websites.
Copyrights
Copy Rights Info
answered 1 year ago
You can copyright just about anything. Even your own name. Try googling the word copyright and it will take you to were you need to go. You need to submit your idea on paper to the copyright office. The web sight tells you all about the fees. You also have to do or they will do(they meaning the copyright people) a search to see that no one else owns that copyright already. Once that is done then the copyright is yours....
answered 1 year ago
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