WGA Registration

davidlh

davidlh

Active member
I have a quick question about the WGA registration that has been on my mind for a while now. I notice that there is an East coast WGA and a West coast WGA, but what do I do if I live in Missouri? I'm right in the middle of the country and on neither coast...

Thanks in advance for helping me answer my ignorant, yet puzzling, question! :)

-davidlh
 
You file for a copyright with the US copyright office and skip the WGA stuff. Why? because only a true copyright provides legal protection, WGA is not a true form of legal protection. Do a search for the office website and read what steps to take.
 
I've read about taking that route and fully agree with it, I've just been curious which one I would register with. Or for that matter, if I was ever to become a member, which one I'd join.
 
Well I've registered my short with the WGA West and for a small nominal fee, I fee it is adequate for my copyright. Even though it is not the US Patent office, there are many people who will cross reference to the WGA for past registration. At least you will have a Union that will protect your registration vs the US Government, who may not back you up since they are so big that they might not give you personal attention when needed. If you worry about it, then registered with both, It doesn't hurt. If I last remember registration with the WGA is pretty nominal at best.
 
davidlh said:
I have a quick question about the WGA registration that has been on my mind for a while now. I notice that there is an East coast WGA and a West coast WGA, but what do I do if I live in Missouri? I'm right in the middle of the country and on neither coast...

Thanks in advance for helping me answer my ignorant, yet puzzling, question! :)

-davidlh
Click to expand...

There's really no point in registering your work with the WGA until you are required to join because you've sold your script to a WGA signatory. The only legally significant registration, is with the US Office of Copyrights, and there are additional features of 'registration' that are not afforded by the simple rule, 'whatever you write is thereby copyrighted by you'. I've not looked at it for a while so things may have changed, but I recall that punative damages could only be awarded if one has registered the material. Otherwise, for a copyright infringement of an unregistered (and WGA registration could be used to substantiate a 'prior' publishing of the work) work, one was only entitled to
proven loss. Check this with an actual lawyer, but the idea is if the going rate for a 'new writer' is perhaps 50K for a script... you could only claim 50K... (or heck even less... maybe not even enough to cover the legal fees...) Punative damages would allow for a bigger settlement... that may just cover legal fees...
 
Ditto on WGA versus US Copyright Office. WGA is a complete waste of time and money; remember, WGA only stores your registration info for five years, then it vanishes and you have no record on file with them, unless you pony up the cash to WGA again, and again, and again, every five years; and WGA has far less protection in terms of legal remedies compared to US Copyright Offce (which will cover you for your whole life and then some, and provide kick ass statuatory protection to scare the hell out of anybody thinking of stealing your writing).
 
Randall_Oelerich said:
Ditto on WGA versus US Copyright Office. WGA is a complete waste of time and money; remember, WGA only stores your registration info for five years, then it vanishes and you have no record on file with them, unless you pony up the cash to WGA again, and again, and again, every five years; and WGA has far less protection in terms of legal remedies compared to US Copyright Offce (which will cover you for your whole life and then some, and provide kick ass statuatory protection to scare the hell out of anybody thinking of stealing your writing).
Click to expand...

What's more, there isn't a army of production company assistants combing through WGA submissions... and even more telling, there isn't a WGA entity promoting the idea to production companies...

As far as I can tell, the only reason why someone bothers is some sort of ego stroke... or if the script really is going out to The Street...
 
Wow! Great advice you guys! I won't even worry about the WGA registration once I get my first script written (I'm excited!). I've just always been curious :p Thanks again!
 
WGA registration doesn't do anything for you that copyright registration doesn't give. Yet copyright registration does do things for you that WGA registration doesn't.

So -- if you like the Writer's Guild and you want to make a donation to them, go ahead and register it with the WGA. But that's about the only reason to register with the WGA, because to protect you legally you ALSO *must* register your copyright with the Library of Congress.
 
Haha, good advice all. I have two scripts I haven't copyrighted formally yet, I mean haven't sent in, so I need to do that in the next few weeks.

How is that process done though? I mean they are obviously not finished scripts, they will each be maybe 5th or 6th drafts, so they're good, but they will no doubt change a lot either between now and when I shoot it (in the case of the first script) or between now and a future draft that I'd actually send out...
 
I should think the differences between a 5th draft and a final draft would be negligible enough in the legal sense that you would be pretty well protected just registering the 5th draft, but if it were me I would register both what you have and the final draft when it exists. Just $35 for online registration of a work at the US Copyright Office, and easy to do it online.

JonathanLB said:
Haha, good advice all. I have two scripts I haven't copyrighted formally yet, I mean haven't sent in, so I need to do that in the next few weeks.

How is that process done though? I mean they are obviously not finished scripts, they will each be maybe 5th or 6th drafts, so they're good, but they will no doubt change a lot either between now and when I shoot it (in the case of the first script) or between now and a future draft that I'd actually send out...
Click to expand...
 
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