Apparently registering your script with the WGA doesn't protect you

Of course it doesn't protect you. Register with the library of congress if you want to get some legal protection.

Registering with the writer's guild is -- well, it's common, but it doesn't actually *do* anything for you that you don't get (and more) from registering your copyright with LOC. All the WGA registration does is give you a temporary proof that you registered it before anyone else did (assuming, of course, that you actually do register it before anyone else does). But even so, the government copyright office would give you that same proof, plus the ability to sue for triple damages.
 
I had written a script synopsis once and was dumb enough to put it online (Over at Rotten Tomatoes to be exact)

The script itself was not raped but the opening scene was erilly similiar. In my script, 3 guys hit a a deer at night and get out to investigate; the deer is dead ..

they decide to get some pictures of them and the deer; jacket on, shades on, baseball cap ...

The deer wakes up suddenly and bolts; key's in jacket pocket ... my script goes onto a Werewolf story but this same scene is in the film Kangaroo Jack (obviously some details have changed)

Maybe a coincidence; maybe not. But the first time I ever saw it; my jaw dropped.
 
barry, so if thats the case then why are most writers almost universally advised to register with the WGA? How come writers are not universally advised to register with the LOC?

thanks for the heads up btw!:beer:
 
I think you'll find that WGA is a quicker reg type, so people often reg first there, then move onto LOC at a later date.

EJ
 
hoofandmouf said:
barry, so if thats the case then why are most writers almost universally advised to register with the WGA? How come writers are not universally advised to register with the LOC?
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Perhaps because it raises a lot of money for the WGA? I don't really know. I can't think of a single benefit WGA registration provides, protection-wise, that the LOC doesn't.

As Blaine said, it does take months and months to get your copyright registration certification back. The WGA allows you to register online, instantly. So there may be some benefit there, if you need a registration number right away.

In both cases, the point of registering is to provide a provable date of registration -- the thinking being, if I registered it before you did, and you claim I stole it from you, I could go in court and prove that it's my material and that I obviously had possession of it before you did, as evidenced by my earlier registration. But above and beyond that, registration with the LOC gives me the right to sue for triple damages; registering with the WGA doesn't give you any additional protection under the law.

If you can only do one, register with the LOC. If you want to do both, and can afford the $30, it wouldn't hurt to also register with the WGA.
 
it seems to me that if the process of reg. with the LOC takes a bit longer, thats even MORE reason to do it 1st before reg. with the WGA.... why would you want to put off something that is already going to take a bit of time

I'm glad I read this post, I just finished a script and was "going" to go the WGA route. I might still do the WGA but the LOC will be first and foremost.
 
It doesn't have to be an either/or process. I've registered everything with the guild. It only takes a few minutes and you get immediate results. The price is $20 for non-guild members and $10 if you're a guild member. And you can do it on line. With the LOC copyright, the cost is $45 and takes about 4-6 months to receive your registration.

Keep in mind that your registration with the WGAw lasts 5 years then must be renewed.
 
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..... but it doesnt protect you from anything

you're not doing anything but giving more money to an institution that ultimately doesnt serve your interests
 
The registration process places preventative measures against plagiarism or unauthorized use of an author's material. While someone else may have the same storyline or idea in his or her material, your evidence lies in your presentation of your work. Registering your work does not disallow others from having a similar storyline or theme. Rather, registering your work would potentially discourage others from using your work without your permission.

Though the Registry cannot prevent plagiarism, it can produce the registered material as well as confirm the date of registration. Registering your work creates legal evidence for the material that establishes a date for the material's existence. The WGAw Registry, as a neutral third party, can testify for that evidence.

Registering your work with the WGAw Registry does not take the place of registering with the Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office. However, both create valid legal evidence that can be used in court.

Even if you have copyright through the Library of Congress, registering with the WGAw Registry creates a separate legal record for your material. In addition, you may consider registering treatments or drafts of your work-in-progress with the Registry prior to registering your final draft with the Copyright Office.
 
Disconcerting to say the least. I am working on a web sitcom that we are pitching and hopefully getting funding for later this month, but after that who knows? What if they decide to opt out but take our idea :(
 
Yardsale said:
Disconcerting to say the least. I am working on a web sitcom that we are pitching and hopefully getting funding for later this month, but after that who knows? What if they decide to opt out but take our idea :(
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Happens everyday, the ones with the money bank on the fact that you don't have any. Want to sue? Go ahead, will cost tens of thousands and you have to prove you were ripped off. So you win? You might get lawyers fees paid for but all you have is your idea that you still have to sell?
Get it....
A good friend of mine was ripped off for a stunt street bike show, his idea - he had the talent. Got a name stunt man on board who had the connections.
The name stunt guy took it and ran....My friend is screwed because he TRUSTED the guy. I told him to get it all buttoned down with a lawyer but he did not because lawyers like to be paid. He did not have the $5,000 to get started. Contracts are essential. If the people you are dealing with do not want to do things in writing - then good bye......
 
Blaine said:
That might help.
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"might" being the keyword.

look, I'm not advocating that writers NEVER reg. with the WGA but I do think that people should spread the word more about the LACK of real protection you get from them. People should know this stuff. People should know that you need to reg. with the LOC (even if it takes some months and cost a few bucks) if you want real protection that will hold up in court. Everytime I read a story about a non-hollywood/industry/smalltime/indie writer getting his idea ripped off and exploited it makes me cringe. I think more and more writers and filmmakers should be wanting to protect themselves and move away from the current institutions that are in place, not try and buy into them.
 
Being over-paranoid that someone is going to steal your idea bares all the hallmarks of a rookie writer.

Of course even if you LOC and WGA your material, anyone can simply steal your ideas regardless (no protection can stop that against an unscrupulous person).

The truth is many, many legit companies will simply buy or option your works if they have any interest in production. It’s simply cheaper to do that than steal and then be faced with a court-case and bad publicity.

The second truth is that many of us simply don't have ideas that are worth stealing (although each and everyone of us is convinced we all have the idea for the next best H-wood movie).

Release forms are part of the screenwriting biz. They protect the company, not you.

Sending material into companies for review by their readers/DoD's are part of it too. Which also poses another chance for theft by the reader/DoD.

There's too many avenues of potential theft to count...

... but if you lock-up with fear that everyone is a crook, then how will you get your material read - and then sold?

Protect your material the best you can, then send it out into the world and hope for the best.

EJ
 
EJ Pennypacker said:
... but if you lock-up with fear that everyone is a crook, then how will you get your material read - and then sold?

Protect your material the best you can, then send it out into the world and hope for the best.

EJ
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That's pretty much it in a nutshell :beer:
 
EJ Pennypacker said:
Being over-paranoid that someone is going to steal your idea bares all the hallmarks of a rookie writer.

Of course even if you LOC and WGA your material, anyone can simply steal your ideas regardless (no protection can stop that against an unscrupulous person).

The truth is many, many legit companies will simply buy or option your works if they have any interest in production. It’s simply cheaper to do that than steal and then be faced with a court-case and bad publicity.

The second truth is that many of us simply don't have ideas that are worth stealing (although each and everyone of us is convinced we all have the idea for the next best H-wood movie).

Release forms are part of the screenwriting biz. They protect the company, not you.

Sending material into companies for review by their readers/DoD's are part of it too. Which also poses another chance for theft by the reader/DoD.

There's too many avenues of potential theft to count...

... but if you lock-up with fear that everyone is a crook, then how will you get your material read - and then sold?

Protect your material the best you can, then send it out into the world and hope for the best.

EJ
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Very well said.

People also forget the universal thinking process. If you have a thought you think it original, chances are that there are thousands or tens of thousands with the same idea. That's not to say that theft doesn't happen, but as EJ mentioned it's often easier just to pay a few grand for an option.

I had a project many years ago that I hired a writer to work on. We got to a first draft and then decided to sit on it for a few months and then re-approach it for the rewrites. the premise was revolutionary so we thought we had plenty of time to relax and make it right. A few months turned into a year and then a writer's worst nightmare came true. Here's the idea that we had:

Use this newer technology called the internet to fabricate a fake story about some video footage found in the dense, Pacific Northwest wilderness. Try and blur the lines between what's real and not. Of course none of it was real. The footage would show documentary-styel footage of a research team in the woods as they try to describe what they are experiencing from some creature or unknown entity. Show the team giving their accounts as they face the unknown entity and deal with the fact that they are lost, running out of supplies, etc. The creature was very much our own version of Sasquatch, but very man-like and would not really be shown throughout the movie.

Sound familiar? Yes, it's very similar to the Blair Witch Project. the actual script was very similar in tone, but was written a couple of years prior...and we never showed it to anybody.

similarities happen for many reasons, which is why a writer needs A LOT of projects that they can write and write with passion.

Best,

J.
 
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