You’ve written a
screenplay, a book, some poems, a novel – your latest literary creation. Now
what? If you’re like most writers, you’ll suffer the inevitable paranoia that
your work will be plagiarised the minute you send it to a producer hungry for
the next big hit. You think you’ve written the most perfect screenplay known to
man. Ok, so it’s not perfect, you admit, but the IDEA is great. Surely, they’ll
pinch the idea!?
You are your own
greatest fan. Truthfully, your idea is probably not as good when it hits the
real world; no matter what fantasy you have created about it. As writers (and I
include myself in this scenario!), we are all sadly deluded as to our own
greatness. “Not me”, I hear you saying, “I really AM great … speak for yourself!”
Well, yes … you too.
Let’s dispel some common myths about writing and copyright, as there seems to be
a common confusion in this country as to what it’s all about.
Copyright is automatic
That’s right.
It’s automatic - the second the ink dries! If you’ve created a literary or
artistic work, copyright exists automatically by virtue of its creation. The
UK ratified what’s called The Berne Convention with effect from 5 December 1887
and it’s this law that protects you.
It is a good idea for you to mark your copyright work with the copyright symbol
© followed by your name and the date, to warn others against copying it, but it
is not legally necessary in the UK.
Ever wonder why Hollywood produces two films about a comet hitting the earth
(Armageddon and Deep Impact)? That’s because you cannot protect ideas, only the
expression of an idea. Anyone that’s ever sent their script to Hollywood will
know that it comes back unopened anyway. Why? They’re all too worried about law
suits. Trust me … if they like your idea … they’ll buy it. If you want to send
your script to Jerry Bruckheimer, by the way, it has to go through a recognized
literary agent (that doesn’t include your cousin pretending to be one either).
PROTECTING YOUR COPYRIGHT
Ok, so you’ve
written your script, but you STILL think someone is gonna pinch your idea. Fair
enough … sometimes it happens. In our experience, much less then you think. But
it doesn’t hurt to protect yourself. We take out insurance against everything
else in our lives: car damages, home, travel, death (all the inevitabilities!),
why not a kind of insurance for scripts?
Yes, copyright is automatic, but how do you PROVE that you own the copyright?
This is where contention arises. The most common way of proving ownership is to
establish the “date of creation” of your work. You do this by registering your
work with a third party. Forget sending yourself your work in the post. It’s
just altogether less effective.
While in the US,
the Writers’ Guild of America facilitate script registrations, our Writers’
Guild is slightly less effective. But fear not, for the UK does have a US
equivalent, The Writers’ Copyright Association, UK, whose sole purpose is to
protect literary work. They do this all on-line and also offer legal contracts
and give away loads of freebies like Final Draft and also The Guerilla
Filmmakers’ Movie Blueprint (which I have the honour of having worked on!).
In the UK, you
can register your work with:
• The Writer's Copyright Association, UK -
www.wcauk.com
And the US equivalent is:
• The Writers’ Guild of America –
www.wga.org
Both are relatively inexpensive and can give you that peace of mind you are
looking for.
The way it works
is like this. You visit the WCA website. You upload your work for a small fee
(£25 for five years). You are then sent back a unique serial number that you can
apply to the front of your work. The WCA records the date of creation and, in
case of litigation, can provide evidence to this effect.
This is helpful
in that, when you place the serial number on the front page of your screenplay,
it acts as a visual deterrent to any would-be plagiarist, snipping the act of
plagiarism in the so called literary bud. They’ll think twice about pinching
your brilliant little baby.
Do be aware that
the WCA and WGA do not verify the originality of your work. This is for a
tribunal or court to decide (if it ever got that far). It’s always good to keep
a paper trail of everything you do, and everyone you send your work to. But you
cannot and obviously should not register something that infringes any third
party. If someone else created it, someone else owns the copyright. This applies
to virtually everything – photographs, music, web pages, designs etc. You always
have to seek permission from any third party.
Should you
register with BOTH the WCA and WGA? If you are planning on sending your work to
the States, it’s advisable. The WGA has very strict guidelines for writers
working in the US and some US options may legally require you to register your
work with the WGA. In effect, it is identical to the WCA. Both organizations
date and time stamp your work.
Adaptations
You may be
interested in adapting a book. Unless the work is in the public domain (public
domain is life of author plus 70 years), it is going to be owned by someone. In
fact, the author’s estate or beneficiaries may still own every work you think
might be in the public domain. If in doubt, check. With clever hunting, one or
two phone calls will get you the answer you need.
Your first port
of call is to call the publisher and ask who owns the film rights to the work.
Often this is something the publisher has negotiated with the author. Either
way, they will be able to tell you who to call next, be it the author’s agent…
or maybe even the author himself.
If the rights are
available, your next step is to “option” the work for a period of time. This is
like taking out a short hold lease on the project. You pay a fee for a window of
time, say one year, and have the exclusive right to try to make the work into a
film. Sometimes with unknown authors, you can get the option for nothing (a
nominal contractual fee of £1), but don’t expect to get the latest Nick Hornby
book at this price.
Bad news for you.
There is no copyright in a name, title, slogan or phrase. So you can’t sue
Working Title under the assumption that you own copyright to the “Four Weddings
and
a Funeral” because you had the idea first. Sorry, pal.
But you may be
able to register this as a trademark. The Academy Awards (Oscars) are
trademarked, so is Coca-Cola, but most film titles are not. For more information
or to register a trademark, visit the Patent office:
www.patent.gov.uk
However,
you’ll be interested to know that most US Studios register formal copyrights of
their work with the Library of Congress. For more information, visit the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA), which was set up to protect and enforce
copyright infringement and illegal piracy of film –
www.mpaa.org
Also check out the Library of Congress, where formal copyrights can be
registered:
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/
OK, now you know
how copyright all works. Pretty straightforward. But let’s sum up:
1. Write your script
2. Register it with the WCA
(www.wcauk.com)
3. Stop worrying and get on with it.
Ever wonder why
you haven’t made it yet as a writer? Here’s a key thing to think about: are you
stalled in neutral? This is the most common cause. You sit around complaining
about the state of the UK film industry instead of actually taking action. Guess
what … IT’S NOT GOING TO COME TO YOU!!! YOU have to go to it. Change gears, get
into drive. Don’t get stopped by “NO!” You have to work through “no”. Don’t make
it mean anything.
Most importantly, you’ve written your one screenplay and sent it out, got loads
of rejections and collected letterheads from all the major players (which you’ll
no doubt throw back in their face one day). Ask yourself “are you doing
everything you can do to get this out?” I mean everything? Who are you on the
phone to today? Set yourself specific measurable tasks.
Finally… are you
still writing? By the time you’ve read this article, your project is now old
news. Want to be a writer? Write something else. And when you’re done with that…
get straight on to the next project. Instead of being attached to your work…
just be committed.
**Article By
Jonathan Newman, Copyright 2004. All right reserved. If you would like to use
this article, please
email
Jonathan.
