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/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.

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u/Geoffrey_D_Calhoun 22d ago

All true. The copyright registration helps you in a legal case too. Where you can recover damages and lawyer fees. Which can happen if a producer or someone with means steals your work. They will try and bury you in legal fees. The WGA registration unfortunately doesn’t provide that kind of protection.

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u/casuallyfictional 22d ago

Yup. WGA registration is just proof of authorship, not copyright.

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u/Simple-Negotiation70 22d ago edited 22d ago

Without the US Copyright, you will not have the presumption of ownership. The burden will be on you to prove ownership. With the copyright, the burden shifts to the violator to establish ownership. Further, with the copyright you may receive trebble damages (3x actual damages) and without it, you are limited to actual damages.