Hollywood’s practices have come under scrutiny in the wake of the Time’s Up/MeToo movement, the growing chorus of discontent around under-representation, and more recently, abusive behavior. In this series, I dive into the concept of Idea Theft.
TL;DR: If this has happened to you and you want to submit feedback, here’s a form/survey/poll.
Idea theft may be defined in many ways. In this series, I am focusing on instances where someone else takes your work – be it an idea, concept, project, book, script and so on – and develops it without your involvement, let alone any credit or compensation. Of course, it should be stated that those works are not the same.
For starters, the general rule of law is “knowledge, truths ascertained, conceptions, and ideas are free as the air,” according to International News Services v. Associated Press, 1918. As with anything, context matters and according to the Berne Convention, the rights granted to a script or a book are considerably far more ranging than someone with a mere idea.
In November 2020, we launched “The Academy” to explore ethics in business and discuss practical applications of legal theory. This combines a couple of my passions:
- while I may be a laymen and not a lawyer, I am a bit of a legal geek;
- socio-economic inequality, which I’ve covered through my documentary Fox in the Henhouse and many articles on this website.
If at any time you’d like to contact me, you can use the last field at the bottom of this form. Here’s what to expect in the days to come.
Part I: Hollywood’s Other Dirty Secret: Idea Theft
Part II: Hollywood is About Ideas & Relationships; Equality & Justice Be Damned
Part III: The Many Ways People Are Intimidated to Shut Up
Part IV: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Part V: Storytelling & Gaslighting
Part VI: Copyright Infringement Precedents
Part VII: Damages
Part VIII: Prescription & Statute of Limitations
Part IX: Discovery & Depositions & the Destruction of Evidence
Coming next
15. Jurisdiction & Venue
16. Ethical vs Legal
17. Perspective
18. No Safe Passage
19. No Honor: In Search for Leadership, Integrity & Character
20. Conclusion
If at any time you’d like to contact me, you can use the last field at the bottom of this form. We will be publishing each section shortly.
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