Should Screenplay Register Copyright Or Wga

Copyright protects artistic work; it does not protect useful products (which are protected by the area of law known as patent) or identifying marks or symbols (which are protected by the area of police known as trademark). Withal, not all creative work qualifies: Copyright merely protects artistic works that are orginal works fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright does not protect ideas, it protects the expression of ideas (ie: your screenplay). To protect yourself during pitch meetings, e'er prepare a written treatment expressing the ideas you intend to pitch. Source: "The Writer Got Screwed" past Brooke A. Wharton.

Make sure you lot e'er copyright your work. Practice not mail your script to yourself (the poor human being's copyright) and wait to be protected. This is extremely foolish and offers very footling, if whatsoever, protection in a courtroom of law. Register your script with the U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress and/or the Writers Society of America. Fees for either service are only twenty dollars. If you're serious nearly your work, information technology makes good sense to register your script with both services.

The Library of Congress/U.South. Copgyright Part: Register your script with the U.S. Copyright Office past filing out a Class PA and returning information technology with 20 ($xx) and two (2) copies of your screenplay. Registering your copyright with the Library of Congress volition serve to authenticate your claim to copyright should a dispute arise. Library of Congress copyright registration lasts your lifetime plus fify (50) years.

Writers Order of America: Registration with the Writers Guild offers similar protection with respect specifically to claims of authorship and date of completion. A copy of your script and twenty ($twenty) will register your screenplay with the Writers Guild for ten (ten) years. This registration is renewable for an additional ten years.

The WGA has two offices. One in Los Angeles know as the WGA West, and one in New York, WGA East. If y'all live east of the Mississippi river y'all should register with the New York office, and if you live w of the Mississippi you should register with the WGAw. The WGA provides firsthand documentation if you hand behave your script to their offices. If you mail service your registration, you will receive documentation in a week or less. They are very efficient. On the other hand, the terminal time we checked, the Library of Congress was taking around 26 weeks to document copyright registrations.

Does WGA registration take the place of copyright? No. Whatever questions regarding copyright should be directed to the U.S. Copyright Role in Washington, D.C. at one-800-688-9889 or to an attorney specializing in that area of law.

Does registration with the Writers Guild protect titles? No.

Does registration aid in determining writing credits? By and large, no. If in that location is a dispute every bit to authorship or sequencing of material by date, and so registration may exist relevant. Questions concerning the WGA credit determination procedures should be directed to the Credits department at (323) 782-4528.

The Writers Guild's Registration Service (or Intellectual Belongings Registry) registers over 30,000 pieces of literary material each year, and is available to members and non-members alike. Writers are invited to submit material to be archived by the Writers Guild to protect their work. For more information on this service, contact the Registration department at (323) 782-4500.

The WGA Registration Service has been gear up up to assist writers in establishing the completion dates of detail pieces of their literary property written for the fields of radio, theatrical and television motion pictures, video cassettes/discs and interactive media. Registration provides a dated record of the writer'southward claim to authorship of a particular literary fabric. If necessary a WGA employee may produce the material equally evidence if legal or official Guild activity is initiated. The Registration Office does not brand comparisons of registration deposits, nor does it give legal opinions, advice or confer any statutory protections. Registration with the Guild does not protect titles.

Should Screenplay Register Copyright Or Wga,

Source: http://screenwritersguild.org/copyright.html

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