Confidentiality is essential in our relationship. We will never discuss your work, or show it to anyone, without your permission. We don’t use the names of writers or their films for promotion, publicly or privately. In the extremely unlikely event that we detect a conflict of interest, we will immediately inform you, and refer you to a different consultant.
Writers are understandably concerned about the possibility of theft of their intellectual material. Though “stealing ideas” is possible, and does happen, it is not a huge problem in screenplays. A story idea, like the blueprint for a house, has little value by itself. A house, once built, has great value. And a great screenplay, once written, after months and months of hard work, can also have great value. Therefore, the simple precautions needed to protect the writer’s intellectual property should be taken.
1.You may register your script with the Writer’s Guild. Non-guild members pay $20. This service provides some proof of when your script was written, should such proof ever be needed in a hypothetical litigation.
2.You may Copyright your work by submitting the appropriate forms / materials to the US Copyright Office. This service costs $30 and is preferred by lawyers. Note that ideas are not copyrightable, but works (treatments, scripts) are.
3. You can call the Puerto Rico State Department and ask for the information for register your script in Puerto Rico Intellectual Property Register.
Your work is protected under copyright law as soon as you write it. You may choose to protect it further by filing with the Copyright Office, the Writer’s Guild or Puerto Rico Intellectual Property Register. We will not read any material is not properly register. Also you need to sign a our company release to star our script doctor process.
It is typical for writers to sell scripts and later discover that the studio has hired another writer (or writers) to rewrite it. Much more common than “theft,” is the issue of which writer contributed what and how much to a script that ultimately got produced. These disputes are subject to arbitration by the Writer’s Guild (or in some cases, litigation) and records (original notes, rough drafts, and subsequent drafts) are evidence of a writer’s contribution to the final product. It is in your best interest to keep such records on file. Establishing the writer’s degree of contribution is important because it determines who will receive screen credit, production bonuses, and residual payments.
Retain any notes from meetings with producers, companies, studios, etc. Keep dated copies of any “leave behinds” (treatments, outlines, sample scenes) that constitute intellectual material. In the highly unlikely event that you end up in some kind of litigation with another writer, a producer, or a company, these records could be very important. I must emphasize that I am not a lawyer. If you have any questions or doubts, or feel your work is in anyway vulnerable to theft, make sure you consult with an appropriate attorney.
Privacy and Copyright
