Screenwriting : Posting a Screenplay by Shawn Colpitts

Hi @Shawn! Great question. I would say the majority of members post their loglines but do not attach their scripts - though I've seen many members attach their scripts to their logline posts. You could always watermark your script, and for sure you should make sure to register your script. Here's a great blog on this topic from an attorney -- >> https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-protect-your-script-from-theft-3210?...

Thanks, Emily J !

I post scripts on my profile, Shawn Colpitts. That way, a producer, director, etc. can download a script right away if they like the logline and synopsis. I second what Emily J said about that blog.

I have some script material on my profile Shawn Colpitts and more on my web site. I also have a US copyright certificate. I'm willing to share my work. I want people to see it. I'm also very aware that I have to protect my work, too.

Register your work first, then it's semi protected. Or mail it to yourself as the poor man's copy write

As long as it’s copywritten.. you should feel free to post.

Post a one page synopsis. If folks are serious about making spec scripts into movies- and the concept interest them- they will request a screenplay.

I heard that mailing something to yourself to copyright something is actually a myth. Is it?

It'd be much cheaper to go that route. I was not aware of how much money needs to get poured into getting a screenplay noticed, pitched and produced. Everyone wants to get paid something before there is any progress and you may not even get anything in return for what you put out... or is that just how it feels?

That's called a 'Poor Man's Copyright" that nails an inception date. Passe in this day and age. If you must...

A work is inherently copyrighted upon completion. It's registration of the copyright with the Library of Congress that costs $65. Worth it for peace of mind.

Shawn Colpitts. That wouldn’t work because you can mail an unsealed envelope to yourself and stick something in it later and then seal it.

Hello Shawn :) I don't post my screenplays on here, because I want to be aware of who's reading it. If a producer wants to read it, they'll request it. If I've asked a fellow screenwriter for their notes/feedback, I'll send it to them. Otherwise, posting it is free Kindle ;) But that's my opinion. :)

Send it Certified. It works. If you're a poor man.

The questions of author and legal copyright are separate. If I create a work, I automagically have an author claim to copyright. I wrote it. I created it. But --- if I do not legally register my claim in whatever county I'm in or where I want to publish, my rights can be challenged. imho Pay the government copyright registration fee and send in a copy of the work so at least in your home country you can Legally protect your work.

E Langley, Even that wouldn’t not be considered admissible evidence because you can send an unsealed certificated envelope to yourself and put something in the unsealed envelope months or even years later.

I wouldn't consider submitting it here... at least, for now. For safety reasons, but also I want to send it to the right people.

Huh. It's not unsealed. No one said it wasn't. ???

When they were used, the court would make the determination if the seal was broken. But that fell out of fashion, or passe. There was a time pre-Internet that must have been a nightmare to file a copyright.

One thing I realized when I moved to Nashville long ago is that it’s silly to be worried about someone “stealing” your work, because anybody who has the means to do anything with it would be a professional and professionals don’t steal other people’s work.

I said this to a friend who actually works in the industry and they expanded:

A professional has their own projects, as well as many paid projects, tons of other things to get on with and get paid for, so [they] don't need to go hunting to steal some random writer's ideas. And if a company wanted it, they'd be far better off buying it, when they can easily afford to, than stealing it and causing themselves all kinds of problems.

The Supreme Court has ruled that a lawsuit cannot be initiated until a work is registered with the copyright office. There is no "poor man's copyright" anymore. I post a synopsis on my logline page and include the text, "script available upon request". I also include a link to the pitch deck. But all of this is done after I secure the copyright.

$65.00 is well worth the cost.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/17-571

"For the reasons stated, we conclude that “registration . . . has been made” within the meaning of 17 U. S. C. §411(a) not when an application for registration is filed, but when the Register has registered a copyright after examining a properly filed application."

E Langley

I am just saying someone can send an unsealed envelope to themselves. Then they can stick something like a screenplay in it sometime later on. There would be no way to prove that the screenplay was in the envelope when it was mailed,

Yeah, sure.

E Langley. I know you don't believe me but when I posted my opinon I wasn't talking to you. It doesn't matter anyway because I live in the US and here you must register your screenplay if you want to use it as evidence in court.

Yeah, okay.

An industry great once told me that anyone who could do actually something with your work would already be a professional and thus would not be in the business of stealing, since they already have their own very real projects to focus on.