Under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, copyright protection is
available to the expression of an idea but not the idea itself.
Even though an idea is not protected per se, an idea disclosed in
confidence is protected under law. A prerequisite for such
protection is to prove originality of the idea.
The word "original" means something that is novel or
has certain characteristics that differentiate it from all other
ideas available in the public domain. Therefore, even if an idea is
available in the public domain but it has "significant twists
or slants to a well-known concept", it will be considered as
original.
What is required is that the creator of the work has used his
brain even though he/she is using an idea that is already in the
public domain so for e.g., the setting in which the story is cast,
the backdrop of the family, the characterization of characters, the
trigger points leading to different dramatic situations and the
handling of these situations with
