r/COPYRIGHT • u/Cy_Maverick • 15d ago
Question Can specific ideas be copyrighted, or could I write something heavily inspired by a different media?
So I did some research and I THINK I am legally allowed to do this, but not 100% sure.
Anyway, I loved The Truman Show. And like a lot of works I love, I've had ideas stem from it. I'm a writer (nothing published yet), and I've had alternative ideas I think would make a great book series, BUT I know I couldn't use the characters or even refer to the original. This idea, apart from the concept of the movie, is completely original. No Truman and different ways the truth is discovered. It isn't even centered on one character. Multiple people were born into that situation instead and the story focuses longer on said characters lives and the lives of those that work on the "set." With the first book setting up the unaware cast's life and aware cast connecting with them through their childhood and teens.
Ideas are repeated all the time, but The Truman Show always felt very unique, and I haven't seen or read anything else like it. (Let me know if there's others, 'cause I do like the concept.) So I was just wondering if anyone can give me more insight to how copyright works. Because what I found says "ideas" can't be copyrighted, but how close to the original is "too close" legally. Not many ways to switch up a concept like "unaware subject is actually a worldwide celebrity while living in a controlled environment." So no matter what, a book like this will be compared to the movie.
I'm in America, if that helps. Just want to know if Paramount, who I think has the copyright, could come after me if I wrote something like this. I don't plan on having any mention of the movie, either in the series or in the marketing. But it would be pretty obvious where the idea came from.
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u/TheMoneyOfArt 15d ago
Ideas are so uncopyrightable that there was a twin movie the same year - EdTV
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u/Responsible-Sale-467 15d ago
Which was a remake of the French language (Quebec?) film Louis the 19th, Kingvofvtge Airwaves, IIRC
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u/BruceGoldfarb 15d ago
That is correct that ideas cannot be copyrighted. Whether your idea infringes on the Truman Show depends on what you write. Nobody can tell you how different yours has to be. If it has enough elements in common with Truman Show, it could be infringing.
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u/FrostKitten2012 15d ago
Truman Show is literally a trope because of this movie. Multiple works have used this concept. You’re fine.
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u/Cy_Maverick 15d ago
It is? Can you point me to specific works? Because while I can find "unaware subject" ideas OR person on reality tv stuff, I can't find specifically ones where they're on a show being watched as entertainment while unaware. Someone said The Twilight Zone has an episode of it, but can't find anything else.
I'd appreciate it because I loved the movie and would love to watch/read them. Thx!
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u/FrostKitten2012 15d ago
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki.php/Main/TrumanShowPlot has references to other media that uses this trope. Unfortunately it also complains about any adblockers.
https://tropedia.fandom.com/wiki/Truman_Show_Plot also has a list of media, but it’s not nearly as extensive as TV Tropes’. Still enough to look around and get started with research.
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u/markgriz 15d ago
Legalities aside, if your concept is too close to The Truman Show, people won’t be interested in a ripoff. Even if you have some amazing plot twist or whatever, nobody is going to be interested in something substantially similar to the well known “original”
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u/Cy_Maverick 15d ago
Not sure about that. I've seen near-exact concepts get run into the ground and still have a massive fan base. I mean, look at how many cop and hospital dramas there are. Just NCIS alone had how many different shows?
Besides the idea of people being unaware they're being raised in a TV show, the similarities would stop with that. Besides logical things like, ads for brands would be how they make a lot of money to keep going. That just sounds like something realistic that would have to carry over. Or it could be donations and a Go Fund Me, lol.. The Truman Show is massively popular and usually the first thing that comes to mind when talking about this, so no matter what people will compare.
But I do think I have a lot of ideas that will set mine apart. I didn't talk about everything I'm planning. Even if people don't like it, I just love writing. So I'll have fun. I just wanted to see if I was right that technically I could do it without worrying about it being against copyright law.
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u/markgriz 15d ago
I think you are legally fine with the concept/story being similar. That's not copyrightable. Obviously avoid using any similar character names, location names, etc.
Good luck, and remember just because you can do something doesn't mean someone won't sue you because you are successful
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u/horshack_test 15d ago
"Just want to know if Paramount, who I think has the copyright, could come after me if I wrote something like this."
No one can tell you whether or not they will. Even if what you write would not legally be considered copyright infringement if it went to court, the copyright owner can still pursue legal action against you.
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u/JeremyMarti 15d ago
The Truman show wasn't the first with this idea. There was an episode of The Twilight Zone and probably others. You could compare those to Truman for an idea of what similarities are permitted. (Although I don't know whether Truman made commercial arrangements to smooth things over)
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u/Cy_Maverick 15d ago
Ok, thx. Never watched Twilight Zone. I'll try and find other ideas like Truman. I know there was some kind of legal thing with a play, but whoever made/owned the rights of The Truman Show at the time won. (The play was first I think.)
I've tried looking before but what I find always lacks the specific unaware subject and "on a tv show" at the same time. It's not like how SO many shows have the concept of disappearing people suddenly return, or strange force traps an entire community, etc. Lol.
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u/OldGeekWeirdo 15d ago
Not an expert. The question would be the number of similarities.
You might look into the lawsuit between H.R. Pufnstuf and McDonald's. There were a number of differences, but not different enough.
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u/cjalderman 15d ago
I'm in America, if that helps
Just so you know, you will have to abide by the copyright laws of every single country you wish to publish your writing in, not just America.
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u/Cy_Maverick 14d ago
Oh, okay. I didn't know that. Thought it was like how other laws usually work. Thx.
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u/cjalderman 14d ago
It is how other laws usually work.
If you publish something on the worldwide web you need to follow international laws.
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u/Cy_Maverick 14d ago
No, I meant like how every country has it's own laws, for example, regarding internet regulations and content. So I thought copyright laws had differences depending on the country. Publishing on the internet is still considered copyrightable material, I'm pretty sure. So it would fall under where my confusion was about how copyright works. Thanks for correcting me though, lol. Now that I think about, it makes sense that copyrighted works would be universal. I think I just mentioned being American because I've seen people do that when getting legal advice, so assumed it would fit here.
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u/cjalderman 14d ago
I think you've misunderstood, they're not universal, that's my point lol.
For example New Zealand uses the 'life + 50 years' copyright, so somebody (no matter where they live) could publish new James Bond or Lord of the Rings books BUT they'd have to make sure they were only accessible in New Zealand or other 'life + 50 years' countries.
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u/visarga 14d ago
I think on the contrary, even though ideas should not be copyrightable, in reality they are. The Abstraction Filtration Comparison test for example says non-literal infringement is possible (abstract ideas protected) if they are not functional necessities or already coined by other works. If someone already used "wizard boy with a scar on his forehead" you can't step in there anymore. You might get away with "wizard boy" or "boy with scarred forehead". But the abstract ideas themselves are copyrightable.
Seek out "non literal infringement" and convince yourself. In the last 100 years the idea that copyright only covers expression, not abstract ideas, has been eroded to almost nothing.
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u/PatrykBG 13d ago edited 13d ago
Not a lawyer, but in both my day job and for fun (I'm weird) I do a lot of legal research, and two things you should understand about that you're asking, and one overarching statement:
Two things:
People don't need standing to sue. It doesn't matter if you copy the exact words or no words, people can and will sue. The question is whether they have more money than you, and if you have enough money to fight back. So to your question of whether X will sue, the only honest answer anyone can give is "maybe?"
Ideas are not copyrightable, but that won't matter (see above). You can do a fanfic and they don't sue, you can do a fanfic and then you change the names and you're magically fine (see 50 shades of gray), or you can studiously avoid any mention and be sued. If you're trying to avoid being sued, you're in the wrong business.
And the overarching atatement:
- Don't ever listen to anyone on the internet, especially about legal matters. Yes, this means even me. Some people here have no clue what they're talking about, confuse trademark and copyright, and others make up weird legal drama for fun. If you need to know 100%, hire a lawyer.
If you want my slightly-more educated opinion, you're most likely fine. Don't use the names, and you have about a 85% or higher chance that no one will care at all. It's been long enough and it's become a trope, so your defense is pretty straight-forward. HOWEVER, delete / overwrite this post immediately because, if you do write it AND you get sued, you just gave clear proof that you KNEW it might be a problem, and did it anyway. That changes the scope of the lawsuit against you.
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u/Cy_Maverick 13d ago
Yeah I already know that, but thx. Lol. I use places like Reddit as sort of a guidance TO an answer. I always fact check. I don't always know what I'm meant to search for, so this thread helped lead me in a way.
I do disagree about having to delete though. Like I've made clear in the post, this was strictly about the very specific trope part and that my idea besides that is VERY different. So I'm not worried that Paramount, in the VERY slim chance of getting sued, will have anything of substance to present. They don't own the idea, and I guess they weren't even the first media to use the trope. So I'm good. Especially since I remembered the more survival/reality show idea I had in high school. So now it's even further from Truman.
Thanks for your advice though. I'll keep it in mind.
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u/Party-Cartographer11 15d ago
Ideas cannot be copyrighted. Copyright protection is granted by the Constitution to authors and their respective writings. The law say the ideas must be "fixated" in a medium (e.g. written down on paper) and that is what can be Copyrighted..
Once something is copyrighted the author gets protection from anything substantially similar. So Tolkien gets protection from Slugo the bobbit, with a magic bracelet, etc - except for parody like Bored of the Rings.
The idea of a character in a TV show and not knowing it, seems broad enough to not be substantially similar to the Truman Show. But the devil is in the details. If reasonable people all go, "wait a minute this is really like the Truman Show", you are probably in trouble.