So I Want To Share My Story Ideas, But I'm Worried About About My Ideas Being Stolen

[Captain Karnage]

so the title kinda says it all.

well, I actually want to start sharing the chapters I've started wrighting online to get some feedback to see what people think.

but I'm kinda worried about copyright and having someone take my ideas as their own.

anyideas on how I could safely share my ideas?

[Lord Raven]

You could google doc it and ask people on a one-by-one basis. Make it so only people it's shared with can read it.

[eclipse]

Do you plan on publishing this professionally? If so, you'll need to do some research on your own, because that's a completely different can of worms. If not, then Lord Raven's idea should work.

[Thane]

Where do you live? If you plan on publishing it and get it printed, chances are you can ask union-like author and writing groups for help and advice.

I don't know the details of how this works in the rest of the world, but in my country, the rules of ownership of a text are both very clear and strict: if you've written it, regardless of where, it's yours and only you've got a right to it unless explicitly stated otherwise.

If you just want people to read through it, I wouldn't worry too much. It's true that you're influenced by what you read, play and watch, and there are some people who straight up take others' ideas as their own, but I'm not sure you'll reach a wide enough audience to attract vultures.

[sirmola]

In the US, copyright technecaly covers anything that has been posted on the internet. To quote the FAQ on the copyright ofice's website:

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?

No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

That being said, there are three issues with this. Firstly, people mistakenly think only things with notices are protected, or that things on the internet are not protected at all. Also, copyright only covers the actual work, NOT ideas in the work, so if someone "borrows" your plot, but uses their own writing and character names, copywrite does not cover that. Copywrite rules are more consistent than you might think between countries due to somethng called the bern convention, but detailed (especialy anything in the DMCA) vary from country to country. Due to these things, plus lawsuits (which the only way to get compensation unless the DMCA applies) being pains, i would recomend the what lord raven said.

The FAQ can be found here:

https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/index.html

Edited December 30, 2016 by sirmola

[Captain Karnage]

Where do you live? If you plan on publishing it and get it printed, chances are you can ask union-like author and writing groups for help and advice.

I don't know the details of how this works in the rest of the world, but in my country, the rules of ownership of a text are both very clear and strict: if you've written it, regardless of where, it's yours and only you've got a right to it unless explicitly stated otherwise.

If you just want people to read through it, I wouldn't worry too much. It's true that you're influenced by what you read, play and watch, and there are some people who straight up take others' ideas as their own, but I'm not sure you'll reach a wide enough audience to attract vultures.

southeast US

thanks everyone, I'll begin sharing it once i feel a little more comfortable with it. like another week or so

[Skynstein]

You send the betas only to people you trust, and they give you feedback. Ideas are not protected by copyright, though.

Everything that's publicly posted online is considered published and its commercial value is considerably reduced, BTW.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Cerberus87

[Parrhesia]

I don't think it's likely that your ideas will be stolen. Any writer who can't think up their own plots isn't good enough to be published regardless.

[Moonstone]

I agree with Cerberus, but I'm fairly old fashioned. Share your ideas with close trusted friends and family members. They can give you great feedback and can be a very confidential source for that feedback.

I've never tried Lord Raven's idea but if you don't trust your IRL social group to give you good feedback that will probably be your best route. Of course, I think even then someone could open their own word file and copy what you wrote as they read along. But RL friends and family can do that, too, unless you share ideas without anything actually written for them to see. It's very unlikely that someone will remember something you said verbatim.