How to Copyright Scripts for Plays

Video Transcript

"STEVE CAVERNO: Steve Caverno on behalf of Expert Village, here today to talk to you about formatting and play production. Now we're going to talk about copyrighting your script. This is something that is very important; a lot of places won't accept your script if isn't copyrighted, and also this serves to protect your work. It's a pretty easy process. All you have to do is either go to the Writers Guild of America or the Library of Congress' website and copyright your script. Basically, what you do is you'll go to this website, www.copyright.gov, or Writers Guild of America, WGA, and then you will compile the materials they ask you for and send it to the address, of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Here's the address if you'd like to write that down on this presentation. You can go to the site and download a form A--form PA or short form PA. PA basically stands for performing arts. It is a medium of copyright that you want to do when you're writing a script that is intended to be performed. You'll send them a check for the current fee of forty-five dollars and the work is protected under copyright for the author's life plus seventy years. So you have plenty of time, plenty of protection; you don't have to renew your copyright or anything like that. Once it's sent to the Library of Congress or the WGA, it is officially copyrighted for you. This little label right here is the--you might recognize from seeing scripts and books--this is the copyright label. You don't want to have to put this on your script or anything; it's just kind of one of those things where they put it on unpublished scripts. As long as you put the copyright number on there, then they'll know it's copyrighted and this is just kind of one of those things that they'll do in the printing industry. But anyways, that's a good introduction to copyrighting. You can always go to these websites and find more information about it."