Hello Everyone,
I hope this message finds you all well during this crazy time we live in? I once pitched a script idea for a television series to a big channel in Africa. They loved it, and asked me to send them my script and other work I've done on it. So I did, but there was no response from them... Many years later I find out that they have made a series just like the one I pitched to them. It is very successful and they have made spinoffs in different countries...I want to sue them, but I'm not sure if I have a good case. How many of you have experienced this? How did you navigate through it? And did you have a successful outcome?
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Hi Marc,
You'd need to take legal counsel.
Obvious questions:
Did you sign any disclaimers or release forms when pitching or sending your script?
Is your script copyrighted?
How similar is the show? The concept is ballpark, or actual characters, scenes, and lines of dialogue are the same?
Thanks Eoin O'Sullivan for the questions... I will be getting legal counsel... I wanted clarification.
He has, thanks Dan.
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Firstly. If it is your script - you have a case. If it is your idea. Ideas are not a copyright protected thing.
I have not had this experience. I would see a lawyer. Asking writers for legal advice is dangerous at best.
Okay, thank you.
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You can not copyright an idea. So are their direct dialogue steals? are character names or described exactly the same? Was there actual plagerism?
Why didn't they just buy it from you?
William Martell, I am wondering the same thing... but this is Africa . We don't have each others best interests...
Thanks Art ,will do as soon as possible.
Not all the time Dan MaxXx.
The take away = only work with people you know/trust.
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If you have proof of the email and a copyrighted script, both with something to identify the date you sent it and confirmed point of contact, it's enough to build a case. The question is - have you talked with a lawyer yet? Once you have those two confirmed pieces of evidence, it's really in the lawyer's hand after that, and it's worth it to get their opinion.
Signing an NDA when someone requests a script is not the way to go. The written request for your material should be enough to confirm that it was not voluntarily offered up to them from you. It's worth noting that when you email the script, you should include some verbiage in the body of the email that confirms "the script as requested by [name] on [date] for [purpose]". You can even include a disclaimer. Also, asking someone to sign an NDA when they're trying to help you get it made ties their hands- they can't talk to anyone about it and you want them to be able to talk about it with their co-workers, boss, and network. That's how they sell you and it up the chain.
Thank you Karen Ross for the advise, I do have all of thee above... When I find myself in difficult circumstances I like to look at it from different angles. The grassroot angle is always informative, much wisdom is gained in many councilors as the Good Book says. Other than that, I usually take my queues from a book called, Clearance and Copyright. I measure the experiences from my research and plot my own path, of course with the help of the masters law at my side... In the book Clearance and Copyright, they have a chapter talking about not asking producers to sign NDAs, for all the reasons you mentioned and more.
Dan, maybe.
Thanks Dan Guardino for the advise, I agree with you.