Animation studios will try and make you sign contracts that say they own anything and everything you pitch to them, regardless of whether they pick it up.

You can get around this or have the contracts modified if you have good representation, but most artists don’t or can’t afford to. I also know for a fact that studios use these clauses to mine and steal ideas from struggling artists.

IMO, America is far too biased overall towards employer versus employee rights and this is a problem in a lot of fields.