Protect Yourself

Creative idea-napping. What do you do?

Protect yourself.

We have been very lucky in the past 14 years we’ve been operating - we’ve not to date had someone or some business use our creative ideas without us being involved. Until now. (Sharp inhale of breath).

Smell the roses when things get shitty.

I debated about writing this, but as an exercise in catharsis I’m gonna turn that frown upside down (a man once said this to me), and beatifically approach this experience of fuckwittery as a way in which to share my consequential learnings with other creatives who may find themselves in a similar position.

As such this is positive vibes only and I shall resist going off on tirade, but rather look into what we can do to protect ourselves and our ideas.

It’s fairly normal fare that if you are in the creative industry, working as a small business or freelancer, that at some point you will be pitching to people, and/or businesses who you think will align with your idea commercially, or work with you as collaborators. And it is not unreasonable to be pitching an idea which is unusual and unique to the market, to the brand, to the potential audience - because that is how things work …isn’t it?

Clients are looking for new ideas that provide a unique viewing experience to their customers, and in turn generates ROI - whether that’s through documentary work or commercial campaigns. And this is the tradeoff within which our business model works.

But Let’s Rewind a moment.

There have been lots of moments along our wonderful, wild, work journey where we have learnt lots of valuable lessons; when to start issuing contracts, shortly followed by - issuing deposits, followed by ensuring deposit get paid at the correct time in your financial cycle, and then - when to start putting in set number of feedback loops.

Nothing out the ordinary in more mainstream careers or workplaces, but in the outdoor industry, which feels like a friendly, organically growing sort of place, where relationships blend from client to friends very quickly, it feels a bit off to suddenly switch to the formal.

But I really believe it makes it better for everyone on both sides of the fence - you know where you stand, your client has a clear understanding on how you work and are in their turn protected, and you have a basis for negotiation. It means you can park that worry and get on with creating.

However before we get to this point, there is pitching.

And pitching is not a quick process, before you even get to speak to a client, you have to bring together your idea into a snappy, cohesive deck which encapsulates not only your beloved nurtured creative darlings (ideas), but detail how this provides great return on investment and audience reach for the client.

Obvious right?

If I pay for something I expect to get some beneficial return on parting with my pennies.

But then once you speak to a client you have no guarantee that they will go for your idea-ling. It might be the wrong focus for the client at the time, or doesn’t align with budgets, there are many reasons - and it’s normal, rejection is part of the game.

So now you’ve shared your idea out into the big wide world.

You are absolutely convinced of how a big a success it will be, have puts weeks and months into the pre pitch development process, going back and forward with the client, working away on the idea with little protection of your brain assets. And them bam… maybe a new decision maker could enter discussions, give it to someone “cheaper”, or take it a friend with a camera - I’m resisting explaining the obvious pitfalls . Naïve us never really thought we would need protection. Woah.

Now what?

Pitching your idea is an exercise in trust - especially in an industry as small as ours. And on the whole everyone we’ve ever worked with are lovely people who genuinely don’t want to pull one over an indie creative and never have.

So what can you actually do?

1. First of all Intellectual Property - Note: ideas themselves are hard to protect legally, what you’re really protecting is the expression of that idea, so documentation matters. So before you get on the phone write it down in an email - always ensure there is a paper chain - even if it is a brief outline. And name it. Name your pet. You take ownership now.

2. NDA - more extreme and most big businesses won\t sign one - but possibly worth a try - it gets complicated with legal processes on their side really fast, so often means that unless you have a really solid existing relationship they just don’t have the time to wade through this, and they could hard pass.

3. Submitting your idea in chunks - Start with the outline, gage interest, before committing to revealing all your cards.

4. Legal blurb: adding into your deck the following - clearly and not in small print. “All information, including concepts and ideas, contained in this document has been created by and belongs to [Your Name]. All such information is strictly confidential and may not be used without written consent”

Ahem… seen as we’re getting all serious - this has been written with no legal training or advice - but my own research.

It’s still an exercise in trust at the end of the day, and hopefully it’ll never happen again to us or you - I’m still smelling the roses and positive vibes.