Copyrighting

Ezekiel667

Ezekiel667

Well-known member
I'm aware that this topic has probably been covered 100 times all around these forums. But I'm kinda lazy and don't feel like searching through hundreds of posts to find my answer.

So here's my question: I have a script, written and revised and what have you, and now I want to start the process of making it into a film. I obviously need to get it copyrighted before I start sending it out to producers, or even show it to my not-so-close friends. So I'm going to send it out to the Copyright Office, but I know that takes time. I was hoping for a quick fix just in the meantime of waiting for the real copyright. Anyone got anything for me?
 
You can register your script online with the USLOC, today, and once you pay the $35 fee online and upload your script online you are protected, the process has begun, and in a few months you will get a certificate in your mailbox validating your copyright registration.

Ezekiel667 said:
... So I'm going to send it out to the Copyright Office, but I know that takes time. I was hoping for a quick fix just in the meantime of waiting for the real copyright. Anyone got anything for me?
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Not an attorney...

But, speaking as someone who does development but not so much with the writing, it is important that you know that anyone you approach might already be developing, producing or otherwise have in their legal possession something just like your property.

They might let you pitch them without disclosing same and the submission agreement you sign might provide them with enough protection in the event you subsequently claim that they are using your idea without paying consideration or providing credit for same.

Seldom with this come down to character names or scene-for-scene details, but the amount of work out there with very common themes and devices would (or maybe not) surprise most people.

Furthermore, unless you can categorically prove (e.g., Buchwald v. Paramount, 1990) that your idea has been boosted by someone who has by some method come into contact with, and subsequently appropriated without fair consideration, your property, a copyright or registration is largely just an empty piece of paper.

This is especially true in what I do. We've heard many pitches that sound like something we've already heard or something that is already in production. Just be aware of this and that most bad deals go bad as they're looking you in the eye and not when you have no knowledge of what is happening!

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Thanks for the advice. I'm a naturally cautious person, and I'm really paranoid so I'm not just gonna go around throwing my script in people's faces haha.

I didn't know that once you send in your script in was in the system. That's what I thought took time, getting it into the system, not just the sending of the paperwork. But that's really good to know. I'll send it in as soon as I can.

Thanks again guys.
 
If you pay the fee and upload your script tonight into the USLOC system, you have a pretty solid electronic dated and stored trail of your script's registration with the USLOC. It is in the government's system at his point. You immediately get a registration submission number (I know, I have done this quite a few times). But you would want to wait 2-3 months until you get your certificate in the mail and the process is complete before making a sale with a lawyer, etc.-- congrats if you are so luck to do so in the next few months. :beer:

Ezekiel667 said:
Thanks for the advice. I'm a naturally cautious person, and I'm really paranoid so I'm not just gonna go around throwing my script in people's faces haha.

I didn't know that once you send in your script in was in the system. That's what I thought took time, getting it into the system, not just the sending of the paperwork. But that's really good to know. I'll send it in as soon as I can.

Thanks again guys.
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