Writer Unable To Show ABC Had Access To His Ideas When It Created “LOST.”

In 1977, plaintiff, a writer, submitted to ABC a script called “L.O.S.T.” about a group of eight survivors connected to the U.S. Olympic team whose plane crash-lands deep in the Himalayas. ” Five of the survivors are Olympic-bound athletes, one is the team physician, one is a television reporter, and one is the pilot. Among the athletes is a former military man who assumes leadership of the group, a spoiled rich girl with a drug addiction, and a strong-willed man who shows a temper and challenges the former military man’s leadership of the group. The plane’s radio is smashed in the crash. In 2003 and 2004, ABC created and developed a television series called “LOST.” The writer brought an action against ABC, claiming his ideas were used in the television series, and the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of ABC. The appellate court discussed the evidence plaintiff submitted to support his contention ABC used his ideas in creating the television series, stating: “When plaintiffs do not have direct evidence of use, they may raise an inference of use by showing the defendants had access to his ideas and the defendants’ work is substantially similar to the plaintiffs’ ideas.” The court concluded plaintiff’s evidence was insufficient as a matter of law “because he relies on a bare possibility of theoretical access premised on mere speculation.”  Spinner v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.  (Cal.App. Second Dist., Div. 8; April 5, 2013) 215 Cal.App.4th 172.