Saturday's Blog
This is from our guest for Saturday's blog. Please try and keep questions "general" topic regarding producing, copyright info, etc. Remember, Brad cannot give legal advice about a specific issue. In addition, please don't pitch your projects here. You can contact us privately, but the blog is intended to be for everyone's enjoyment and education. Thanks!
Welcome everyone! Let me first say that I am honored to be among you today and I apologize ahead of time for my slow typing and possible misspelled words. This live blog is simply a brief overview and introduction into some basic issues concerning filmmaking and intellectual property. It is not intended as legal advice but rather an overview for educational purposes. Before I take any questions, let me get into the substance of our blog.
So why is having your intellectual property protected by U.S. Copyright laws important? Well for starters, it is how you create a tangible asset in order to be compensated for the expression of your ideas. Copyright law creates the incentive to conceive and distribute works by protecting you from the unauthorized use of your material by others. From a writers viewpoint, we all want to sell that award winning screenplay and protecting it under copyright law is the first step.
Second, as a producer, my process in making a film begins with the material, the screenplay. In order to maximize the profits for my investors and protect their interests, a chain of title (ownership) is established to avoid any potential infringement liability, which could cause unnecessary delays in the distribution of the film and other legal damages. The copyright proves ownership of the expression of the ideas encompassed in the screenplay, as well as the final audio-visual work of the film once completed.
There are two types of U.S. Copyrights available, a "Common Law Copyright" and a "Statutory Copyright". The difference between the two is how they are obtained and the scope of damages the holder is entitled to recover in a copyright infringement case. There is no such thing as an international copyright but protection does exist.
Thus as a writer, you want to exercise your legal rights under copyright law to protect your interests and have a tangible asset to negotiate with. As a producer, you must maximize the profit for your investors by avoiding any legal disputes and distribution delays by properly securing the ownership rights of the screenplay from the copyright holder.
Now any questions on Copyrights, producing a film or whatever, I am open.
Welcome everyone! Let me first say that I am honored to be among you today and I apologize ahead of time for my slow typing and possible misspelled words. This live blog is simply a brief overview and introduction into some basic issues concerning filmmaking and intellectual property. It is not intended as legal advice but rather an overview for educational purposes. Before I take any questions, let me get into the substance of our blog.
So why is having your intellectual property protected by U.S. Copyright laws important? Well for starters, it is how you create a tangible asset in order to be compensated for the expression of your ideas. Copyright law creates the incentive to conceive and distribute works by protecting you from the unauthorized use of your material by others. From a writers viewpoint, we all want to sell that award winning screenplay and protecting it under copyright law is the first step.
Second, as a producer, my process in making a film begins with the material, the screenplay. In order to maximize the profits for my investors and protect their interests, a chain of title (ownership) is established to avoid any potential infringement liability, which could cause unnecessary delays in the distribution of the film and other legal damages. The copyright proves ownership of the expression of the ideas encompassed in the screenplay, as well as the final audio-visual work of the film once completed.
There are two types of U.S. Copyrights available, a "Common Law Copyright" and a "Statutory Copyright". The difference between the two is how they are obtained and the scope of damages the holder is entitled to recover in a copyright infringement case. There is no such thing as an international copyright but protection does exist.
Thus as a writer, you want to exercise your legal rights under copyright law to protect your interests and have a tangible asset to negotiate with. As a producer, you must maximize the profit for your investors by avoiding any legal disputes and distribution delays by properly securing the ownership rights of the screenplay from the copyright holder.
Now any questions on Copyrights, producing a film or whatever, I am open.
posted by Michelle Nickelson at 8:40 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Karim,
we will be publishing the archives of the live blog, which gives more info. However, one can either have the script copywritten or registered.
On a personal note, I never submit anything that is not first copywritten. However, to WGA register your work also produces a chain of ownership, relating to dates.
It never hurts if you can afford it, to hire an attorney to deal with the producer/company for you. Hope this helps.
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