Teich v. General Mills, Inc.

This case falls within the ambit of Desny v. Wilder, 46 Cal.2d 715 [299 P.2d 257]. Plaintiff sued to recover upon a contract to pay the reasonable value of an idea submitted to defendant in concrete form, a gadget for use as a premium in one of its products, a “new children’s do-it-yourself item in the photographic field.” Plaintiff did not claim novelty and originality which would make his “premium item” protectible property within the common law of copyright and plagiarism. He relied upon contract.

A jury awarded plaintiff a recovery in the sum of $35,000. Motion for directed verdict had…