27 Responses to “Copyright Your Screenplay”

1. Susan P. on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1847

   Unk, this is great info because I was under a very different impression re what registration with, in my case, the AWG meant. I think people here tend to think that putting that registration on the cover of their script (the registration #) and a copyright symbol is enough. I see that all the time!

   I’m curious though about the international situation. If I, as an Australian, want to pitch in the US, would I need to copyright there as well as here? Anyone know?

2. Unk on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1855

   Susan,

   Without a U.S. Copyright, it would be more difficult to bring suit against a U.S. based producer/prodco so I would say, YES.

   Unk

3. Susan P. on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1922

   Thanks Unk, I did look up “international copyright” and read through this link:

   http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl100.html

   I believe however when you are potentially up against bigger players who can afford good legal representation and so on, you are better not relying on Berne or UCC and simply copyrighting in any country you intend to pitch within.

   Lucky our exchange rate is closer to being on par! :)

   I guess however all these issues shore up the reasons for trying to obtain a US agent; particularly if you have more than one script up your sleeve.

4. Winston on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1925

   “Copyright your screenplay”
   “DO BOTH”

   but, but, but… the long answer is shorter than the short answer.

   Copyright is so confusing

5. Ryan on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1939

   This is some serious stuff. I would hate to go through all the work of creating my script, just so some idiot can steal it.

   It’s something that’s worth every second of your time to do. Wether it’s a hassle or not.

6. Unk on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1946

   Ryan,

   I don’t want to give the impression that producers stealing your idea, concept, or portions of your screenplay are the norm.

   They aren’t.

   By and large, you’ll be treated well.

   Having said that, you always want to BE PREPARED for the worst and when the worst doesn’t happen.

   Be happy.

   Unk

7. Ryan on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|1956

   Better safe than sorry. I agree.

8. Unk on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|2006

   Susan,

   If it were me, I wouldn’t think twice about obtaining copyright IN THE COUNTRY I might be doing business in.

   Just reading this in the link you provided:

   There is no such thing as an “international copyright” that will automatically protect an author’s writings throughout the world.

   Would be ENOUGH for me to proceed in obtaining a legal registered copyright in whatever country I might be doing business in.

   Winston,

   Clever.

   Unk

9. Susan P. on Tuesday: 5 August 2008|2047

   Winston, yes, I will be doing both. :)

   The problem for me at the outset of learning was choosing WHEN to register (the initial step in my mind) because as I HAVE been learning, I have swept through total rewrites and even name changes. If I had registered each and every version boy howdy, what a process. Placing expense aside, I would have wound up with 5 variations all registered. Last night I returned to a second concept and have been moving through the outline with relative ease and I would probably register this when done. I am becoming wiser and quicker but what do people suggest for newcomers in approaching multiple versions when they will probably seek review? In my case I am confining that to a trusted consultant but I don’t see too many people here talking about doing that.

   The AWG by the way - and I guess WGA may be similar - allows you to register a name, a logline, a outline, a treatment and then a script so there are several stages. This blog has been invaluable though, once again, for the headsup on this process NOT protecting your ownership rights as such.

10. Clive ($1,000) on Thursday: 7 August 2008|0132

    Just want to chip in on the international copyright issue…

    US Library of Congress registration is considered the basic evidentiary method to establish copyright in most international courts… which is the reason UK writers also register with US Library of Congress.

    However, there is another point that needs clarifying.

    The issue with scripts isn’t “obtaining” copyright… it’s about establishing proof of copyright.

    In strictly legal terms you have copyright the second you stop typing and have created a document.

    However, there are then two issues which tend to confuse writers… the first is what exactly is protected… the second is how you provide evidence of copyright.

    The evidence issue is the easiest and that’s what Unk has so eloquently laid out… bottom line is there are only two ways to clearly establish copyright 1) US Library of Congress… and 2) To lodge a legallly notarised copy of the script with you entertainment laywer, along with a witnessed affidavit stating the document existed on a particular date.

    In both cases you’re providing irrefutable evidence of the existence of your script.

    The next point is “What does that cover?”

    Well, in real terms it only covers the content of the script… and (and here’s the kicker) only in as much as the material is unique to the author.

    In real terms this means:

    1) you can’t protect your idea
    2) you can’t protect anything that’s cliched
    3) you can’t protect any portion of the script that could have been reproduced by someone else accidently

    So, the best protection you can have is a completely original piece… because the less likely it is that someone else thought of it, the better protected you are.

    Next point…

    The best protection of all is to write a great script.

    Writers who get ripped off, do so because their script isn’t good enough… but they have a half decent idea.

    This is because it’s cheaper and faster to buy a script than it is to rip it off.

    Any producer ripping a script off has to be sure they can beat the other film into production… which looks pretty slim if the script they are stealing is well written.

    So, in many respects, any writer who gets ripped off is paying the price of not working hard enough on their technique.

    Last point… it’s better to have an idea stolen, than it is to have to steal an idea

    About seventeen years ago a major international advertising agency (and I mean one you would have heard of) stole a drink driving campaign from me… one of their guys handed me an award for my regional campaign and then a year later they went national with my concept, without doing a deal with me (or offering me a job! LOL).

    All my mates got outraged and said I should sue… but I wasn’t interested, because for me it just validated the quality of my ideas and showed me how lacking they were… I’ll always be able to create new concepts and create new scripts… it’s not possible to steal that.

11. Susan P. on Thursday: 7 August 2008|0239

    Clive, our writing guilds have lawyers as part of their set up and who have advised on the registration process. Is registering your script with your WG as good as this in your opinion? Or, is this (for those of us who are WG members) a three pronged process of copyright, registering and then doing this hereunder with your own lawyer. I suspect many would find a third phase expensive given WG fees are often so high. Now, of course paying now is preferable to potential big losses in the future if something goes wrong BUT, for the sake of accepting there are a lot of writers out there with limited disposable income, is WG good enough after copyright?

    “To lodge a legallly notarised copy of the script with you entertainment laywer,”

12. Clive ($1,000) on Thursday: 7 August 2008|0505

    Hmm… thought I’d made it pretty clear:

    There only two ways that really count if you go to court are:

    1) US Library of Congress
    and
    2) Affidavit and script in lawyer’s vault

    The second is the most expensive, but has the advantage of keeping your script confidential.

    WG doesn’t come into the picture at all… sorry

13. Susan P. on Thursday: 7 August 2008|0537

    Clive, I would not always assume that the author of a topical piece may have necessarily thought of all options. As the issue and status of registration had been raised in previous posts I felt it reasonable to pose it back to you.

14. Clive ($1,000) on Thursday: 7 August 2008|0627

    I guess what I’m saying is… when I use the word ONLY in a sentence, I use it to specifically exclude all other options…

    So any question about other possibilities would require me to have altered my position since writing the word “ONLY.”

    On many screenwriting issues that’s possible, because so much of it isn’t so much subjective as dependent on circumstance… however, the one exception to that are the basic legal requirements of the film business.

    As someone not only writes, but has directed and produced for both film and TV, I’m particularly aware of the legal issues around copyright.

15. Susan P. on Thursday: 7 August 2008|0628

    LOL Fair enough..that’s more than a reasonable argument Clive but I had to have a go at it anyway. *grin*

16. Fiona on Friday: 8 August 2008|0140

    Hi. I’m a UK-based writer just getting started in screenwriting (my first short is currently in post-production). I have always been led to believe that there is no way to register copyright in the UK and that it simply exists at conception. For the paranoid, there’s always the post yourself a registered letter trick. But of course, I could have been mis-led …

17. Unk on Friday: 8 August 2008|1045

    Fiona,

    I can’t speak for the UK (Clive?) but I can tell you without a doubt that here in the U.S., the “poor man’s copyright” that is, sending your script to yourself — just won’t hold up in court when it comes to establishing existence of your registered copyright.

    If I understand Clive correctly, even UK based writers register a U.S. copyright for legal purposes.

    Again, the point isn’t that your stuff isn’t copyrighted upon completion. That’s not the question that’s going to be brought up in court.

    What’s going to be brought up is WHEN you established copyright. Most screenwriters DO NOT register their copyright and many do not even register their material with the WGA.

    Hence, they have absolutely no protection if someone steals any portion of their work. Why? Because they cannot ABSOLUTELY prove WHEN their work was created.

    Registering a copyright establishes this — LEGALLY.

    Unk

18. Mark on Friday: 8 August 2008|1336

    Great advice Unk. I completely agree, do both. But if you only do one, definitely go with the copyright.

    Clive, sorry I missed one of your posts somewhere in the middle of the last thread. That’s why I didn’t get back to you on it, my apologies.

19. Clive ($1,000) on Saturday: 9 August 2008|0008

    Fiona

    Yeap, Unk’s nailed it… UK writers should use the US Library of Congress to establish copyright… which is also true for any non-US resident.

    What most writers forget is that film making is an international business, not one limited to one country… therefore whatever legal issues you need to address have to cover international law, not just UK law.

    The “post your script back to yourself” is a writer’s urban myth… I can’t believe it’s still being talked about. LOL

20. Mike on Saturday: 9 August 2008|0947

    I used eCo (Electronic Copyright Office) at Electronic Copyright Office (eCO)

    The whole process was simple — you could fill in forms with previously entered data with a click of a button — and quick. I filed four (4) screenplays in less than 30 minutes. You are also allowed to upload your screenplay electronically (I used PDF format). Cost $35 per script.

    Keep Writing!

21. Hmmm... on Saturday: 9 August 2008|1038

    So what happens to your script when you sell (if) to a production company? Is the copyright waived? Or do you still retain ownership of the script? And if you retain ownership, how do things like re-writes by other writers affect your script–if it is indeed still yours? Or is the script sold with the expressed understanding that ownership of the characters, words, ideas in a particular script still retained by the writer or are no longer his/hers? And if that’s true [retention of the script ownership by the original writer], doesn’t that fly in the face of the agreements (that the production company now owns the script and you’re just an annoyance to be tolerated) the WGA has with signatories of the AMPTP/WGA?

22. Unk on Saturday: 9 August 2008|1357

    Hmmm… You said:

    So what happens to your script when you sell (if) to a production company? Is the copyright waived?

    Nope.

    In reality, you’re probably going to sell/transfer all your rights to the production company.

    And if you retain ownership, how do things like re-writes by other writers affect your script–if it is indeed still yours?

    It all depends on the extension of the rewrite and of course whatever you negotiate with said prodco.

    Or is the script sold with the expressed understanding that ownership of the characters, words, ideas in a particular script still retained by the writer or are no longer his/hers??

    Again, depends on your negotiation but more than likely — for a writing being sold for the first time, yes — he or she is going to sell all the rights over to the prodco.

    One can negotiate keeping his or her characters for other screenplays as long as the prodco bites off on it… Not many do, unfortunately. They want the whole enchilada.

    And if that’s true [retention of the script ownership by the original writer], doesn’t that fly in the face of the agreements (that the production company now owns the script and you’re just an annoyance to be tolerated) the WGA has with signatories of the AMPTP/WGA?

    Again, it all depends on how well you, as the writer, can negotiate the contractual elements. It doesn’t necessarily fly in the face of the AMPTP or the WGA as long as the writer and prodco come to an agreement — assuming the writer is a WGA member and the prodco is a struck company.

    Are you reading between the lines?

    You should.

    Unk

23. Clive ($1,000) on Sunday: 10 August 2008|0046

    Interesting point, but that gives some ideas about the psychology of many writers when it comes to negotiating.

    Basically, most newbie writers swing between two states: on one hand “You can have my script for nothing because I just want to see my film made”… and at the other extreme “I’m going to be completely paranoid about getting ripped off and therefore argue the toss over completely irrelevant things in order to prove I’m not a lap dog”

    Now the strange thing is, many writers seem to be able to live in both of these states at the same time, flipping between fear or not selling and fear of getting ripped off. LOL

    The truth is despite the fact that I often write about the insanity of sectors of the industry in their attitudes to new talent, what’s mainly true is that people in the industry want to make good movies and some money… therefore the best attitude to take is to find people who want to make your movie and then make a deal that you’re happy with… if it turns out in the long run to be a bad deal, well at least you’ll have learned from it and the great thing about being a writer is we’ll always have new ideas and therefore new products to sell… no one single film or script is that important.

24. Chris J. Scurria on Monday: 13 October 2008|0012

    Just finished writing a screenplay.
    Thanks Unk. I will find out how to copyright and get the message across.
    It is great that you have a website that speaks to so many screenwriters. I thank you of the many you have helped guide through the crazy mess that is called writing.
    I would just be interested if you have sold a scr. play and if it was in the theaters/

    Just curious and you don’t have to answer.
    your friend Chris
    Just found a song that corresponds to story.
    It is called “The Trees of the Field.”
    “You shall go out with joy/ and be led forth with peace/ The mountains and the hills will break forth before you. There’ll be shouts of joy and all hte trees of the field/ will clap will clap their hands.” I have’nt heard (or let alone READ) that one in years. Written by Rubin based on Isaiah 55:12.
    Take good care of yourselves writers.
    GOD BLESS

25. Andrew Wilkerson on Sunday: 19 October 2008|2148

    I have a question. I’m a first-time writer and I’ve just began working on my screenplay. I only have one completed scene, but I do have a character list and a generalized overview of my story. Do I have enough to get a copyright for my screenplay yet?

26. Andrew Wilkerson on Sunday: 19 October 2008|2149

    I have a question. I’m a first-time writer and I’ve just began working on my screenplay. I only have one completed scene, but I do have a character list and a generalized overview of my story. Do I have enough to get a copyright for my screenplay yet? Please e-mail me and let me know!

27. Advice.... on Wednesday: 19 November 2008|0257

    Was wanting some advice. I’ve written (and was still rewriting until recently) a screenplay that was pitched to a certain said studio. This studio told me during the meeting that they were not interested in the project at the time. I just discovered this year that the project had been rewritten and made. Not only that, it had been rewritten quite some time ago and was made in another country and was never released here in America (but was copyrighted here) and from that film - 3 years later was another remake made. I’ve recently discovered all of this when I started recieving phone calls from people that knew about my work wondering why I never told them it was being made. My work is copyrighten with the library of congress and registered with the WGA, not to mention the copyright is older than both movies…but the movie has been rewritten. However, I’ve manage to gather 15 pages worth of comparision (many in which are extremely obvious). I was informed that no one can change or alter one’s copyrighten work or produce and film it with the consent of the one in which whom copyrighted it. I have been reading many of the different comments here and I must say, I don’t remember the person I spoke with at the interview or the actual day of the interview because it was so long ago. I only remember what was said at the interview and the location (which studio it was, which turns out to be the same studio who released the film). Any advice on what to do or how I can fight this? And how far can one go with rewriting someone elses work that has been copyrighted? The story itself is practically the same, just from another characters’ life and deeper point of view and the names were also changed. Advice would be strongly appreaciated.

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