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[JJB]

Hello to the Intellectually Informed, 

I've been nervous to promote my work as a Dancer / Choreographer with online video for fear that concepts would be stolen. 

I realize that creating "audio visual materials" of a fixed, reproducible product is in fact copyrighted in theory but what audio visual materials would be most strategic to register for maximum protection?

Much of my work comes in a linear narrative- a sort of bastardized Broadway experience. A drunk wealthy man enters a bathroom encountering a bathroom attendant etc etc. or 2 sad waiters meet on a bus. I hope to make these once live vignettes, with a very clear beginning, middle and end, into short films someday. I'm afraid if I put versions of them online that someone else will jump on these ideas and make them their own before I have the resources to get them up and running.

Do the postcards, emails, press releases, promotional images & news coverage I've acquired over the years act as "promotional literature" for establishing copyright? Is making well defined video of every performance best to be copyrighted? Even though there are often little to no words, should I write a script w/ stage direction and register that?

If I change anything about the work, does that make the registered pieces less viable as protection? If some of my ideas become a recurring series where the concept is similar but the performances play off the theme in a different way- say a themed burlesque series- what would I do then?

I realize I'll have to eventually get an IP Lawer but I'm going to be fishing around for advice until that fateful day.

Many, many, many thanks,

JJB
jamiebenson.com

 

[Kaitlin]

Do the postcards, emails, press releases, promotional images & news coverage I've acquired over the years act as "promotional literature" for establishing copyright? Is making well defined video of every performance best to be copyrighted?

Whoa, Nelly!
That doesn't sound like anything you would use when you actually have a video fixed in digital or other media.
Have you checked out this circular from the Copyright Office yet?

Even though there are often little to no words, should I write a script w/ stage direction and register that?

It should be possible to register both a screenplay and a video.  I don't work in the entertainment field and don't know whether that gets you a lot more in the way of protection or not in practical terms.  Since copyright registration is cheap, it might be worth doing, however.  Keep checking back to see if others with more experience weigh in on this point.

for fear that concepts would be stolen. 

Remember that copyright doesn't protect the underlying "concepts" per se but rather the work which shows those concepts.

[JJB]

Kaitlin,

Thanks for the response! 

That is often the question I have. Is it worth copyrighting video materials or creating a screenplay to help insure the protection of an entertainment work? I realize that the "concept" is not protected per se, but wonder if I post most of my video online, for all to see, do I open myself up to be copied? And, since the answer is yes, how do I best protect my "assets".

How much could someone else change my general concepts and get away with it? Say they set up the same premise w/ similar, but different choreography & characters but change the ending. Would my registered video and/or screen play even be helpful? But, say it was infringement- I don't have any options in terms of legal action without registering them right? 

I deeply appreciate anyone willing to exercise their IP knowledge on any of this.

With Warmth & Gratitude,

JJB
jamiebenson.com

[JSonnabend]

Jaime, the way to approach copyright protection is to simply create what you are creating, then register the copyright in it.  If you are thinking about "what I need to do to 'establish' copyright" then you are probably not understanding what copyright is all about.

To be clear, your concept will never, ever be protected by copyright, only your particular expression of it.

- Jeff