Mom and Hallmark

My mother always thought Hallmark screwed her. Right after World War II, she designed a series of Change of Address cards aimed at military families. Very clever and nicely done. She submitted them to Hallmark, the story goes, rec'd a polite rejection -- and then a few years later they came out with their own line of same.

But this is like the young screenwriter writing about storm chasers. Whenever a Big Event movie comes out, a zillion writers with similar scripts think they've been ripped off. You can't copyright a concept, only its specific execution. That adds a bit of danger to marketing high concept scripts!

clipped from news.yahoo.com Now on the Hallmark aisle: Gay marriage cards PORTLAND, Ore. - Most states don't recognize gay marriage — but now Hallmark does. The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards — featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says. Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.