I'm about to start a new web series. Right now the pilot is written and we're shooting in a few weeks, then I and a team of writers will begin writing the first season. Since I'm not shopping the show is it worth it to copyright the scripts? All members of the writing team will have signed contracts and we're using Adobe Story, which the director also has, so the scripts won't be shared until we send them to the actors prior to shooting, and all of the actors have also signed contracts.
Screenwriting : When to copyright by Sandrene Mathews
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Sandrene: I'll answer your question with a question. Is your work worth 35 dollars? If your work is worth stealing, its worth having getting a US Copyright. You can do it online at this website. Lookie here! http://copyright.gov/eco/
I know that I can copyright online and that my work has value. But it also won't be available in any public way until after the material is already released, and even then no one will have access to our shooting script unless someone who is under contractual obligation not to share it does so. I'm looking for the benefit of copyrighting in this situation.
If one of your actors shares your screenplay with their Aunt Mabel; and Mabel then shares it with somebody working in the industry; and your screenplay is not copyrighted...? Do you see the benefit now?
No wait! I've changed my position. Don't copyright your work. Otherwise, we won't be able to have this exciting, hypothetical discussion.
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It's not a hypothetical, at least for me, but I appreciate your ability to find humor in all situations. My actors are under contract. My treatment is copyrighted. Again, this is for a series, not a screenplay. If my actors breach contract and share the script, the contract protects me. If the industry person is able to obtain my script, find a crew, cast, locations in the week between the actor receives the script and we shoot, and can make a product that actually makes sense outside the context of the rest of the series then that person deserves to be working so much they don't have time to hang out with Aunt Mabel. So, again, you've only explained what a copyright does, not what benefit it serves in this situation.
You own the copyright to your script the moment you put it into tangible form. What registering gets you is proof that you wrote the script on (or near) X date, and legal protections not available to you if you don't register (like recovering legal fees in the eventuality of a lawsuit). Personally, I'd copyright the pilot, and be less worried about the individual episodes. It's worth considering that the major studios register each episode of their tv shows, but it looks like at the final stage (the aired episode, not the scripts for the most part). Maybe that will help your thought process.
Always keep the notes of how you came up with the idea, along with every edit (digital text files are small), but always submit for formal copyright before passing it out. You can make edits, but that original will protect your rights from the beginning. After that simply keep track of the edits and how you gave a copy to and if possible get an NDA from them.
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You know there is a webinar here on the Stage 32 about such a thing I was able to find for you. You can go here: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Script-Protection-and-Idea-Theft Hope this will help you in regards about really script protection which falls into copyrights. Wishing for great success for your show.
Sandrene: I just re-read this thread and in your original post you mentioned nothing about a copyrighted treatment. You pointed that out in a later post; and they you act like I'm off base on advising you to copyright your work. Frankly, it makes no sense to me why you would be working on a large scale concept like a television show without at least copyrighting your pilot, regardless of having a copyrighted treatment. I assume your treatment doesn't really have much dialogue, so I should think you might see how that might cause you some difficulty. Furthermore, you think by having NDA's with your actors you have ironclad protection. What is your agreement with your writers? Your plan allows for no unexpected contingencies. Let me offer the example of a major film maker, Quentin Tarantino, that nearly didn't make his most recent film "Hateful Eight" (See link below). This was because someone unknown to him leaked the script out into the internet world. Fortunately for his fans, he changed his mind. Finally, I always enjoy posters that ask should I do something and then argue with everyone who offers them reasons why they should not. It sounds like you made up your mind already and your posing a rhetorical question to reinforce your decision not to thoroughly copyright your work. So now you can move forward confidently in something you've already decided not to do, which is copyright everything. For other interested posters, here's a great article from the writers store on ways to protect your script: https://www.writersstore.com/protecting-your-script/ http://deadline.com/2014/01/quentin-tarantino-hateful-eight-leak-novel-6...
Thank you, Shelley. I was wondering if studios went through the process for each script, and if so, when. That was very helpful! I assume in the case of registering after the episode is released they copyright the entire finished production, not just the script, correct? Scott, they've all signed contracts but I will also get NDAs from them, as well as from the members of my writing team once we begin the process and I know who is onboard. Thank you, Richard. I will look into it. Phillip, I apologize that I did not specify but I was only ever referring to the scripts I mentioned still needed to be written, which are for episodes pertaining to the show and of no use to anyone individually. The pilot has been taken care of. My only issue with your response is that I asked for why and you never provided it, you just stated that copyrighting is good, which I already know or I wouldn't be considering it. Even with a copyright I don't have ironclad protection. Either way, if something is leaked I will have to seek legal recourse to recoup losses. For the series, which is constantly in pre-production and production, by the time someone would have a chance to leak the script to an episode chances are it will already have been shot, or, like I said, highly unlikely anyone will be able to shoot it before I do and even if they do, there is no context. So, yes, I personally do not see the benefit of registering a script that will immediately go into production but I asked because I'm open to hearing reasons I may not have thought about, as this is the first time I'm working on a series and not a one off project. Others seemed to have understood what I was asking so I don't think the blame falls solely on me for your misunderstanding. So while I appreciate the knowledge on how to copyright and what a copyright does, it still does not answer my question.
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Sandrene: I appreciate your courtesy and you're no doubt a thoughtful debater with good soft skills. So, if you're a show runner, I'm sure you'll do quite well. I'm firm in my belief that apart from all NDA's or contracts that a good ol' US copyright is still the best protection; and perhaps, I didn't illustrate my point well enough. Either way, I wish you the greatest success with your endeavor. I've requested to add you to my network and hope you'll accept. Respectfully, Phillip
@ Sandrene. It doesn’t matter if anyone reads your screenplay or not. If someone you don’t even know sees whatever it is you are filming and thinks you are infringing on something they wrote and they can sue you. If they registered theirs and you didn't register yours you could end up losing. Even if you just file with the WGA you would at least establish when you wrote yours. Copyright registration not only protects you from someone stealing your material but it can also used to prove you didn’t steal theirs.