Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Intellectual Property question: If someone enters a creative competition (i.e. writing competition, drawing competition, create-a-character contest, etc.) but their idea does not win (thus there is no compensation given to the creator for their creation, and the creation goes unused and unexposed by the corporation) can the company running the contest/accepting submissions claim ownership of every idea submitted. My understanding is even if the recipient of the ideas (contest runner) wishes to claim that the surrender of ownership was one of the terms for entering the competition, that this is not enough to loose your rights as a creator without the company following through with some form of compensation being given in exchange for that specific creation. Thus if not the competition winner ownership would stay with the creator. Is this correct?
2 Answers from Attorneys
"Ideas" are not, in and of themselves, protectable by copyright. This bring said, so long as you submitted something tangible, you own the copyright in that tangible thing unless you agreed to lose or license any of your exclusive rights associated with the copyright.
It is important to read the fine print with these things, but I would say that most likely, if the contest runners took your writing/drawing and used it without your permission, you would very likely have a claim.
The wisest thing to do would be to register for a copyright in the writing/drawing with the copyright office if you are concerned. Feel free to contact me if you would like inexpensive assistance in this regard. 8187837998
Your understanding is not correct. If the terms addressed the issue and by virtue of your submission the contest org assumed rights in your creative work, then the consideration for this transaction was your opportunity to participate.
This is commonplace in a great many circumstances, such as writing competitions, etc. This may not mean that you have forfeited all your rights here, only that you granted the contest org a license to exploit that work.
I suggest that if you are taking this very seriously, you have an IP lawyer review the terms and offer a proper analysis so you are clear on your rights. There may certainly be more to consider than what was disclosed here.
If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.
Kind regards,
Frank
www.LanternLegal.com
866-871-8655
DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.
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