copyright Avoiding copyright

[londonfilmmaker]

APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG READ!

This has probably been discussed numerous times but..

I have an idea for a concept which really interests me. As with most others, I've researched the basic plot/idea/logline of my concept through IMDB and search engines and unfortunately, someone appears to have got there before me.

My idea isn't one of those tried and tested ideas, it's not as basic a concept as something that's been done dozens of times and adapted in several ways (e.g. Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Aliens etc).

My idea is in itself very niche, so niche that there is only one film that has used the idea in this way. It is a one location thriller. I won't give it away but it's "XXXX people trapped inside a XXXX".

This is where my problem lies...

Sure, there have been lot's of ideas that have been done several times but they have been adapted and due to having several locations it's easy to create enough differences to really create something that's really different.

'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact', 'Turner & Hooch' and 'K-9', 'The Descent' and 'The Cave', 'Madagascar' and 'The Wild', and most obviously 'Kick Ass' and 'Super'. All films with the same plot.

As I am writing for one location, it doesn't really matter how many ways I change the story, the concept is still the same and I am worried in the long run I could run in to trouble.

It's like me writing a film about a man who wakes up inside a coffin underground. I could completely change what happens inside that coffin, but 99% of people will call it a 'Buried' rip off (incidentally, this is not my concept, just an illustration of my point).

How do writer's avoid these accusations of infringement with such a straight forward and simple concept? Particularly as only one other film has done this and nothing else has even come close.

I guess a simple way I'll ask this would be something like:

The plot for 'Die Hard' is a New York cop visiting his wife in a skyscraper in Los Angeles finds himself fighting alone inside against a band of terrorists who have taken employees at the building hostage. If I was going to write a film with that exact same premise but the rest of the story was different (i.e. different character names, the bad guys were killed in different ways, different plot points, the New York cop escapes half way through and dies at the end etc) would I still be infringing copyright?

 

[MileCreations]

It's a concept. Using the buried idea. You can't get into trouble for making another film entirely in a coffin BUT it's been done before: what makes your version any better?

 

[londonfilmmaker]

It's a concept. Using the buried idea. You can't get into trouble for making another film entirely in a coffin BUT it's been done before: what makes your version any better?

My point isn't whether my story is going to be better,equal or worse. What I want to know is what are the thresholds for copyright when a story is so unique and niche? As has been said many times, every possible story has been done even if only once before.

For example, I could write a film with the same logline as Buried. I take it at this point I'm not infringing the copyright of Buried. However, in terms of getting in to the plot and story, at what point would it be seen as infringement?

If the man in the coffin somehow dug himself a tunnel half way through and escaped at the end, I take it that would not be infringing copyright - but if he stayed in the coffin and spent most of the screenplay talking on the phone trying to get people to help him, it would be?

With my particular idea, the film I have found that has the same setting and premise is very niche and is only known on the festival circuit and in it's country of origin. It's pretty much unheard of in the USA.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Can you give the story you want to write a new twist that has never been done before?

That is how you get to write it and make it.

 

[Sweetie]

It's like me writing a film about a man who wakes up inside a coffin underground. I could completely change what happens inside that coffin, but 99% of people will call it a 'Buried' rip off (incidentally, this is not my concept, just an illustration of my point).

The plot for 'Die Hard' is a New York cop visiting his wife in a skyscraper in Los Angeles finds himself fighting alone inside against a band of terrorists who have taken employees at the building hostage. If I was going to write a film with that exact same premise but the rest of the story was different (i.e. different character names, the bad guys were killed in different ways, different plot points, the New York cop escapes half way through and dies at the end etc) would I still be infringing copyright?

The idea of copyright is that you have the rights to exploit or assign exploitation rights for your own works.

In general, you cannot copyright an idea. While there is at least one exception to the rule that I can think of off the top of my hear, this is the general rule of law.

The thing you need to understand, you are unlikely to EVER come up with an idea that hasn't been done before. A man buried alive in a coffin, an action movie where the good guy shoots the bad guys, a zombie movie where the dead actually come back to life, Under Siege in a building (Die Hard). In general, you aren't going to breach any laws by copying these ideas.

Copyright essentially relates to how you put all those ideas together. Your characters, their dialogue, the plot twists and so on, while not copyrightable in their own right, when put together become something you can protect by copyright. So your script would be protected by copyright, the words within your scenes would be protected, the film of each scene would also be protected, but a look a character gives, some specific action, these aren't elements that you can protect with copyright.

That all aside, what makes new movies interesting is the NEW and exciting ways you can put together all the pieces together.

So to answer your questions: First, you're fine. Second, you're also fine.

If in doubt, consult an entertainment lawyer.

Does that answer your questions?

 

[londonfilmmaker]

The idea of copyright is that you have the rights to exploit or assign exploitation rights for your own works.

In general, you cannot copyright an idea. While there is at least one exception to the rule that I can think of off the top of my hear, this is the general rule of law.

The thing you need to understand, you are unlikely to EVER come up with an idea that hasn't been done before. A man buried alive in a coffin, an action movie where the good guy shoots the bad guys, a zombie movie where the dead actually come back to life, Under Siege in a building (Die Hard). In general, you aren't going to breach any laws by copying these ideas.

Copyright essentially relates to how you put all those ideas together. Your characters, their dialogue, the plot twists and so on, while not copyrightable in their own right, when put together become something you can protect by copyright. So your script would be protected by copyright, the words within your scenes would be protected, the film of each scene would also be protected, but a look a character gives, some specific action, these aren't elements that you can protect with copyright.

That all aside, what makes new movies interesting is the NEW and exciting ways you can put together all the pieces together.

So to answer your questions: First, you're fine. Second, you're also fine.

If in doubt, consult an entertainment lawyer.

Does that answer your questions?

It wholeheartedly does. Thank you Sweetie.

I've just watched the film that had the same niche idea and I'm happy to say it's quite far from what my vision is, which I am pleased about. Something I probably should have done a while ago.

 

[Firm1]

Yeah, I mean as long as you're not deliberately copying, such as using the same dialogue and character names, you should be fine. If general ideas were copy written, we'd hardly have any new movies....But then again, by copy writing ideas, perhaps we would be pressuring artists to be more inventive with their stories, thus fostering new and better ideas.

...I still prefer the flood gates to remain open. If anything, we should widen it, which is naturally happening anyway.