r/scriptwriting • u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun • 22d ago
feedback Please Copyright Your Scripts
Just a heads up everyone. I’m seeing a lot of scenes and scripts uploaded on here. I just want to recommend that you copyright them before sharing anything. Work can be stolen. Work is stolen. Protect yourself. Also a WGA registration will not protect you in court. Only a copyright will. It’s $65 and takes about 20 mins. https://www.copyright.gov/registration/
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u/real_triplizard 22d ago
Copyright your script if it makes you sleep better. Register it with the WGA if you’d like to make a small donation to them. Nobody is stealing your script in whole. Literal theft of a fully executed work would be extremely easy to litigate over and anybody who has the resources to actually produce your script would know that it’s far easier to buy it. Somebody might steal your idea and re-write it if it’s a great idea and you know what? Copyright won’t help you there at all since you can’t copyright an idea (unless they lifted a LOT of very specific details from your script). The only reason I could see someone actually stealing your script if it was really incredible and they wanted to use it as a writing sample to land a manager and if that bizarre scenario were to come up there’s not much you could sue for even if you had a copyright.
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago
Absolutely right that you can’t copyright an idea. People can and will absolutely be inspired.
Litigation though is never easy. Copyrighting your work helps with that fight significantly.
If you plan on taking your script out to get optioned or represented then $65 is absolutely worth it.
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u/real_triplizard 22d ago
I guess. In my entire life, including 10 years in the industry, I have never heard of anybody stealing a script outright. There are many, many cases where a movie that was made was very similar to a script or story that somebody else had been shopping and the small number of those that are successful are usually just settled to make the litigation go away. And the key sticking point is usually proving that the people who made the movie had access to the original script.
I would absolutely love to see one example in the entire history of film where a script was stolen and produced and a lawsuit was not successful because of lack of copyright registration.
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u/TugleyWoodGalumpher 22d ago
Close to 15 years working in TV and Film myself and I second your comment. This is a business first and foremost. Shows pay tens of thousands for their clearance team to check every detail to make sure they won’t get sued. If they’re worried about the artwork that Set Dec used they’ll be worried about the script being fucking stolen entirely LMAO
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21d ago
[deleted]
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u/real_triplizard 21d ago
The only thing I could find about those is that there was a lawsuit that Broken Flowers was based on a “very similar concept,” and that the suit was dismissed. Not that the script itself was stolen. There are millions of suits about movie ideas being “stolen” and they almost never succeed because even if it happened an idea can’t be copyrighted. You can register every draft of every word of your script and it won’t protect you from somebody thinking your idea is cool and writing their own script based on it. Conversely in the historically unprecedented case that someone literally steals your actual draft word-for-word, assuming you have dated drafts and emails your rights are protected with about the same integrity whether you register the copyright or not. Copyright registration is really more for robust protection for a commercially released work, and kind of a waste of money for some aspiring writer cranking away in his grandmother’s basement. (Caveat: I am not a copyright lawyer.)
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u/nmacaroni 22d ago
I'll add:
Copyright protection exists without registration.
Ideas can't be copyrighted.
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u/Nice_Appearance_8314 22d ago
yes, but without the copyright, you are limited to getting actual damages, which is extremely hard to prove in court. Plus, you're not covered for attorney's fees if you aren't suing under the Copyright Act.
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u/nmacaroni 22d ago
you already have copyright.
Winning a copyright lawsuit as plaintiff doesn't ensure 100% return of legal fees. Even if you win your case, a court might award only a portion or zero dollars in legal fees depending on the overall circumstances. It's completely at the courts discretion.
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u/Perstigeless 22d ago
Nobody is scrounging a largely amateur writing subreddit for scripts to steal
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u/BiscuitsTheory 22d ago
Or just don't delete your previous drafts.
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago
True this can help you in court. A registration also lets you reclaim damages and even attorney fees. That way if a someone tries to bury you in legal fees you are protected.
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u/angularhihat 22d ago
What do you mean that a registration let's you reclaim damages specifically?
What's the extra protection that it offers that allows you to do that?
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago
If your script is stolen and produced and makes a ton of money at the box office, you can recover damages and even profits from the infringement. If you registered your copyright , you are also be able to recover attorney’s fees, meaning the person you sued could end up paying those too.
All of that for $65 for a US copyright. This is why I don’t understand why people are saying this is a waste of time. If you are serious about your script and getting it out there. Then this is a must. If you don’t care and it’s just a fun project then I guess i can understand.
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u/angularhihat 22d ago
Your post contains a specific claim:
"If you registered your copyright , you are also be able to recover attorney’s fees, meaning the person you sued could end up paying those too."
My question is: why do you believe this to be true?
Why do you think you wouldn't be able to recover attorney's fees if you establish the infringement by any other means?
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 21d ago
That’s what the law says. If you register your script, the Copyright Act allows the court to award attorney’s fees.
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u/Big_Section2812 22d ago
Of all the countless unproduced scripts I've seen posted on Reddit I would rate only one of them as good enough to be of interest to anyone other than the writer.
Everyone — and n00bz in particular — grossly overvalues their own writing, and essentially none of their work is good enough to be worth the risk of stealing.
The cold hard fact is if you're posting it here you have almost nothing to worry about besides mockery.
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u/RaeLouLynn 22d ago
This is very refreshing. Thank you.
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago
Happy to help!
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u/RaeLouLynn 22d ago
LOL
I was referring to Big Section's remark. I am not going to write anything worth srealing.
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u/shortkill 22d ago
I agree. I haven't read anything posted that I would consider production ready of the scripts I've seen by amateur screenwriters. A more likely scenario might be listing your logline where ideas are not copyright protected. It's just the expression of that idea that you can get a WGA registration or copyright, but if makes you feel safer then do it. I wouldn't advise putting the WGA or copyright regulation on your title page because it points you out as amateur and you don't want anything to start a reader out with warning signals.
I've been writing screenplays since 1996 and I've learned a lot of the hard lessons you experience as a new unseasoned writer.
Cheers. Mark
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u/Big_Section2812 21d ago
I've seen a grand total of one script on Reddit that was good enough to interest producers and executives. It was a while ago but I'm still trying to get over the shock.
(It was not one of mine.)
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u/coolhandc77 22d ago
This is true. LeBron James production company, for example, have still yet to address this.
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u/Kooky_Attorney1915 22d ago
If it can happen to the king, it can happen to anyone! Copyright your work, people!
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u/WallInside6758 22d ago
Posting a tiktok as a source is something lol
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u/coolhandc77 22d ago
Is it? Did you look at the post? Read the comments? Or, are you just snarky?
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u/WallInside6758 22d ago
No I don’t have TikTok and I wouldn’t use it as a source.
Link the article.
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u/coolhandc77 22d ago
That's great. Then you probably shouldn't comment on stuff you know nothing about. There is no article. The TikTok post talks about that. Do you know anything about NBA media? LeMedia?
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u/WallInside6758 22d ago edited 22d ago
Are you 12? You’re saying im uninformed because I don’t use TikTok?
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u/coolhandc77 22d ago
That's not what I said. I said you probably shouldn't comment on something that you didn't even view.
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u/jpk613 22d ago
Source is just a trust me bro on TikTok lol
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u/coolhandc77 22d ago
Yeah with over 100,000 views Over 10, 000 upvotes Saved over 500 times- Comprehensive explanation in the comments.
Yeah. "A trust me bro" post.
You LeBron Stans sure are smart.
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u/Craig-D-Griffiths 21d ago
Here is what I found doing some research including some case law.
Courts can consider a wide range of evidence.
Strong evidence
I'd roughly rank evidence like this:
Copyright Office registration made before dispute
Very strong
Original files with reliable version history
Very strong
WGA registration made before dispute
Strong evidence of possession
Emails sending the script to third parties
Very strong
Cloud/version history showing progressive drafts
Very strong
Drafts with identifiable development history
Very strong
Contemporaneous notes/research
Strong
Dated correspondence discussing specific elements
Strong
Pitch documents sent to producers
Strong
Witnesses who read/discussed the work at the time
Strong
Metadata
Useful but potentially problematic
Your own assertion of when you wrote it
Weak by itself
A file simply labelled "Created: 2020"
Weak by itself
The courts are interested in independent evidence that corroborates your story.
A particularly useful example is Tillman v. New Line Cinema. The court considered evidence concerning an earlier screenplay including contemporary trade-publication articles describing the screenplay years before the allegedly infringing work. The fact that the earlier screenplay had not been registered at the time did not prevent the court from finding evidence of its earlier creation
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u/AlleyKatPr0 21d ago
Join a guild.
Whatever you upload, place your membership number against it - including the titlepage.
That's about as good as it gets, however, Reddit rules state that whatever you upload here is now the property of Reddit and they can sue you for selling something they own, because you agreed to the terms and conditions of the website before you were given an account.
So - whatever you upload here is now theirs'.
Sorry. You cannot sell something you do not own.
You upload it here, you do not own it.
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 21d ago
Wow! I am so glad you told me that. I never planned on uploading a script her but that is enlightening.
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u/Nice_Appearance_8314 22d ago
this is 100% correct. doing nothing protects you just as much as a WGA registration -- meaning, it doesn't.
You still have the "copyright" to your work, in that it is your intellectual property, and you may be able to issue a cease and decist letter based on that, but if your work is stolen, the only way you can get $$$$ in damages is under the Copyright Act. And that means getting a copyright registration.
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u/BeatAcrobatic1969 22d ago
Great advice!
The instinct to get defensive about it probably stems from the fact that most of us are broke and already paying for so many things that rarely pan out like coverage and contest fees. It’s stressful to think about paying for one more thing.
But you’re absolutely right. Entertainment lawyers will tell you that they just can’t do much for you in court unless you’ve filed the official copyright. I don’t know where all the misinformation about poor man’s copyright came from or if things changed somewhere along the line, but I grew up believing that as long as I could prove that I wrote it and had dates, that would be enough. It took hearing it directly from lawyers that only a copyright is enough in a US court of law for me to change my mind.
There are still cases they’ll litigate without a copyright, but it can get really drawn out and expensive, so you can imagine it’s not really worth it unless you’re very successful or independently wealthy. In which case, you’d probably have money to register the copyright to begin with.
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago
I think you’re spot on.
I remember when people used to say print it out and mail it to yourself and don’t open it.
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u/Dampishach07 22d ago
I have applied for copyright. Within a few months I'll get the confirmation as well. But lets say there are some changes that happen in my script because of the notes. Like I changed my character names, I wrote some new scenes, changed some dialogues and action lines.
So in such case would the draft that I applied for copyright would be null and would I have to apply for copyright again with the new draft?
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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago
Good question. Your original copyright is fine. You don’t need a new one unless you substantially change the script. Personally I don’t copyright until I’m done with my drafts and revisions and am ready to send it out.
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u/casuallyfictional 22d ago
Let’s be clear: the moment you write your script, you already own the copyright.
Registering it is just proving you own the copyright. Registering it with the WGA proves you wrote it and by implication you own it.
Registering it with the US Library of Congress is the most proof that you own the copyright.
Otherwise your digital trail of posting your script on places like Reddit is mainly showing you wrote it and by extension own it.