How to Copyright Your Script

There have been a growing number of lawsuits in which movie screenplays
have been "stolen." Writers devote themselves to finishing a script or
screenplay and before they can get their work professionally seen, a
movie begins production and the characters and plot are unbelievably
similar to the writer's work.

To protect yourself against movie script piracy, you can be protected by
copyright under the category of Performing Art Works.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a completed application Form PA http://www.copyright.gov/forms/formpai.pdf

1. Your work can be protected from the moment of creation, without the
   requirement of actually registering your copyrighted movie script.
   However, the wise thing to do is to officially copyright your work with
   the government office in charge of copyrights. It isn't a requirement
   that you go through these steps, but in the case of a valued movie
   script, the smart thing to do is to register your script, so that there
   is no debate about who copyrighted the script first.

2. In the United States, the government office in charge of copyrights is
   the Library of Congress. Here are the steps to copyrighting your movie
   script:
   
   1)a completed application Form PA
   http://www.copyright.gov/forms/formpai.pdf

3. a copy of the unpublished movie script you are registering (2 copies,
   if published)-- will not be returned.
   
   3) Payment- $45 -- made out to: Register of Copyrights.
   
   4) All items must be sent together in one envelope or package.
   5) cover letter
   6) Keep copies of all these materials for your records.

4. Mail the package to:
   Library of Congress
   Copyright Office
   101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
   Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

5. Your copyright registration will be effective on the day that the
   Copyright Office receives your complete and accurate application,
   payment, and the copy of your script. Remember, your claim to this
   copyright will then become a matter of public record. So the information
   is available to the public and this includes the Internet.

6. It happens. Here are just a few examples in which scripts have been
   stolen:
   1) Thieves in Argentina, just this past Fall, stole a computer from US
   film director Francis Ford Coppola, which contained the saved script for
   his new production, Tetro.
   2) In a lawsuit, January 2000, a Las Vegas company alleged that
   "The Vegas Connection," a made-for-TV movie, was stolen-- still in its
   editing stage.
   3)Reed Martin had a screenplay he finished while teaching film marketing
   at Columbia University and New York University. As it looked like he was
   getting his break, his movie script concept showed up in the 2005 movie:
   Broken Flowers. The plot
   and characters were nearly identical to
   Martin's script.
   
   
   Whether you need to protect your story's concept or whether you want to protect yourself against movie script
   piracy, copyrighting is a wise move.

Tips & Warnings

• PA Form #1, Nature Of This Work, write "Screenplay for Motion Picture."
• #2, "Name of Author": Under "Nature of Authorship," you should give a brief general description of the your contribution to the work, as the author.
• Did you write the entire script, write: "Entire Text."
• If you are claiming copyright to something less than the entire script, describe your contribution.
• -- #4, "Copyright Claimants," even if you, as the author, is also the Claimant. Here, as Claimant, you are stating that you are the person (or company) that legally has the copyright
• In the Correspondence section, you might want to put your lawyer's name and address for a contact person for the Copyright Office. If this is your intention, make sure your lawyer has copies of these materials you are sending as well.
• Yes, you can copyright your work by simply adding the following copyright symbol and information to your script--
• The symbol © (the letter "C" in a circle), or the word "Copyright"
• The year of first publication of the work
• The name of the copyright owner. Example: © 2008 Betty Brown HOWEVER, you are advised to go the full route with a government copyrighting, especially if you expect the ownership could be disputed once the script is circulated and seen as an item of value. This is especially true if the exact day the script was created is arguable.