Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Production for New Show

Yes, this is intellectual property. The term "Intellectual Property encompases Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights, as well as some similar areas of law like trade secrets.

Unfortunately, "Ideas" are very hard to protect. In fact, the only surefire way to prevent an idea from being stolen is to keep it secret. Next best is to have a written confidential non-disclosure agreement. (But no TV studio or network will sign such a document).

Once an idea is reduced to a tangible form of expression (i.e., written out, or recorded, storyboarded, etc.), that expression may be protected by copyright law, but the underlying idea is still free for others to use as the basis for different expression. (This is a free speech principle)

So, you probably want to flesh your idea out in as much detail as possible, before submitting it to production companies. Then, when submitting, make sure the company actually acknowledges receipt of the material, if possible.

As a practical matter, most production companies won't even accept your submission unless it comes through an agent or attorney (* actually, very few attorneys will handle submissions like this). Those that will accept your submission will likely ask you to sign a release. BEWARE. These releases are often referred to as 'licenses to steal'.

Whatever you do... DO NOT SIGN A RELEASE without consulting an attorney!