Whether you have followed it or not, surely you have heard about the Spanish TV series that revolutionized viewers and social media with its time travels and original plot and ultimately fell victim of an unexpected cancellation that left all fans pleading and begging Netflix for its rescue (which, SPOILER ALERT, Netflix did not grant). We are talking about ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’, a short-lived TV series created by brothers Javier and Pablo Olivares that was broadcast on Spanish TV for two magnificent seasons and then inexplicably vanished from our screens. No? Okay, fair enough; maybe only Spaniards know it as ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ while the rest of the world will forever remember it as the show from the people who tried to shut ‘Timeless’ down for plagiarism and failed.

Albeit known for putting their money on historical dramas and underwhelming procedurals, Spanish old-school TV producers took a turn for the innovative and let themselves be dragged into the world of science-fiction and fantasy, giving us one of the most original TV series that Spanish TV has brought us in years . The plot revolves around a secret division of the government that has found a way to send their agents back in time in order for them to prevent the bad guys from changing the course of history. Although they are very busy saving the world, the protagonists still have time to include in the show a good dose of humor and endearing hooliganism, because of course, what else could you expect from the Olivares brothers, who also wrote Iberian classics ‘Los Serrano’ and ‘Los Hombres de Paco’.

‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’, Spanish TV’s attempt to modernize itself, was a critical success and also provided good audience numbers, but ended up being canceled after its second season. However, we are not here today to talk about the show’s early and unfair cancellation (which was ultimately solved and the show got renewed for a third season! No need to worry fans all over the world!); nope, we have bigger fish to fry today. Months after its cancellation, ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ became news once again when its creators manifested their intention to sue for plagiarism the American TV series ‘Timeless’, produced by Sony Pictures and NBC.

Little was known about ‘Timeless’ when the creators of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ made that decision, however the many similarities between the two shows made all of the alarms go off. The NBC series also stars a woman and two men working for the government, traveling through time to confront those who want to change the course of history. On top of the above, ‘Timeless’ also includes small details that are a distinct part of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo”s identity, such as the famous “Gates of Time”, as well as the fact that one of the main characters is a widower, or even the characteristic humor used by the Olivares brothers in their writing. The main difference between the Spanish and the American series is that the first features important moments of Spanish history while the latter, logically, focuses on the history of the United States.

My professional opinion, however (yes I am allowed to play this card every now and then), is that all the reasons listed above are far from enough to make a case for plagiarism. Even if the producers responsible for ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ could will the case into trial procedures, they would probably end up losing. This kind of situation is not unheard of, and we would be lying if we said that the results are often unexpected (particularly under American Law, which would be applicable in this case): the plaintiff’s failure. Why? As it turns out, if anything, ‘Timeless’ has only copied the idea of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’, the concept. Neither a plot line, a specific event, a character, nor the intro sequence or the soundtrack. Always based on the information that has come to light so far, ‘Timeless’ seems to have solely adapted the concept on which ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ is based. This aspect is crucial.

The most important thing to keep in mind within the Intellectual Property Law realm is that ideas, understood as just a simple concept, can never be protected through copyright. At first glance this may seem unfair, especially in obvious situations one may encounter in the showbiz world (i.e. ‘Coming to America’), but the law was written this way for a reason. If we were allowed to shield mere concepts as copyright-protected works and thus ban its use from third parties, we would be limiting the creative efforts of those involved to the point of making any artistic advance virtually impossible, whether in the world of cinema and television or in any other medium.

Take this scenario to the limit to understand it better. If suddenly the creators of ‘Game of Thrones’ forbade anyone else from doing a TV show based on medieval fantasy with dragons, or if Shonda Rhimes obtained an exclusive right to write medical dramas, scriptwriters and showrunners around the world would hardly have room to develop new content.

In fact, everyone who has studied literature knows that there is a classification of plot lines and character tropes that repeat themselves over and over again throughout history, whether it is in books, movies, plays or shows of any kind. In other words, everything we consume as an audience contains the same stories and the same characters recycled over and over again, only with few variations. It is here that the individuality of the artist who is telling the story comes into play, their personal touch will be what differentiates their work from all others that preceded it.

We now know that copying the concept or idea on which a series, film or fictional work of any kind is based can not be considered a copyright infringement, but the ‘Timeless’ case does not end here. Notwithstanding all of the above, it seems that the creators of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ have much more to argue in their favor. Apparently, when ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ first premiered, Sony contacted Javier Olivares and the show’s producers manifesting its interest to acquire the rights for an adaptation. Although Olivares and his team sent Sony all the materials they required, such as scripts and videos of the first season of the series, in order for them to consider the possibility of adapting the show for American audiences, Sony did not seem convinced. Shortly thereafter the communications between the two parties got suddenly cut off without any warning nor an agreement in sight; a few months later ‘Timeless’ appeared out of nowhere on American screens. Javier Olivares and the team behind ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ claim these circumstances originated the lawsuit discussed herein.

If this is true, then it is possible to say that the Spaniards have the upper hand. In this case we would no longer be talking about plagiarism, but the infringement of an implicit contractual relationship that Sony failed to honor, misappropriating the materials that were provided to them after contacting the creators of ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’, clearly stating their intention to buy the rights to the series to adapt it for American TV. In fact, a very similar situation gave rise to one of the most infamous intellectual property cases in Hollywood history, that of Kirk Douglas’s film ‘Ace in the Hole’ (1951). On that occasion the plaintiff, screenwriter Billy Wilder, emerged victorious and set a very important precedent in American IP law.

Fortunately for both parties (or maybe not, as very little is known about the deal at hand), they seem to have reached an agreement to put an end to this war. The details of such agreement did not transcend to the media, but whatever it entailed was enough to put an end to the legal procedures that were underway and, more importantly, both ‘Timeless’ and ‘El Ministerio del Tiempo’ have been renewed for a new season that will air soon. In light of these events, can we consider this case one of the very few happy endings in Hollywood’s plagiarism history? Is everybody pleased with this deal or is there a lot we do not know that would make us reconsider this “happy ending” status? One thing is for sure, time travels did not save anyone this time.