The One Big Rule Everyone Forgets Copyright does NOT protect ideas. It only protects the exact way you say or draw something. You CAN copyright The exact words in your script The exact lines of dialogue The exact painting you made A specific melody in a song You CANNOT copyright “Aliens on a jungle planet” “A chosen hero who wakes up in a fake world” “Floating mountains with waterfalls” “Machines hunting humans after a robot war” So if you write a story about blue cat people who ride dragons, nobody can copy your pages word-for-word. But anyone on Earth is allowed to make their own movie about blue cat people who ride dragons. That part is free for everyone. Why Music Gets in Trouble but Movies Almost Never Do In music, if two songs sound almost the same, regular people on a jury hear it and go “yep, stolen” → the artist has to pay millions. In movies, a judge (who probably hates sci-fi) reads both stories and says “these are just ideas everyone uses” → case thrown out. Rea...