Screenwriting : Copy-rights by Doha Ibrahim Tawfik

Hi Doha,you can register your writing with WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA.I hope that helps you.It works for me.

I believe copyright law is national in scope, not international, so your country should have it's own mechanism for protecting copyright within your national borders. In the US it's the US Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov), but I only think it applies to US-based properties. If a lawyer reads this and it's wrong, please correct me! So, check your government's websites for copyright offices or departments, etc. :)

John.. .thanx. :) FYI... registering with WGA doesn't do squat for copyright protection... not worth the fee, frankly. You're better off just mailing the script or manuscript to yourself with a certified mail return and keep it sealed if there is ever a court dispute.

Jeff Your experiences an Industry Pro, how many ideas are worth stealing and have been proven stolen ? (Excluding WGA hearings about story credits)

thank you John German. Thank you Jeff Lyons. i find your comments so helpful to me.

The first two short novels I wrote I was paranoid for the fear they could be stolen... :-) and I discovered that actually nobody wanted them... Now I worry much less and my work has improved significantly.... A coincidence? :-) Don't take it as a rule though...

The greatest novel worth billions today was rejected by every publisher. JK Rowling kept going, kept sending her manuscript and finally cracked the market. Stop worrying.

FYI... Here is what the US Copyright office says re foreign works: Can foreigners register their works in the United States? Any work that is protected by U.S. copyright law can be registered. This includes many works of foreign origin. All works that are unpublished, regardless of the nationality of the author, are protected in the United States. Works that are first published in the United States or in a country with which we have a copyright treaty or that are created by a citizen or domiciliary of a country with which we have a copyright treaty are also protected and may therefore be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. See Circular 38a, International Copyright Relations of the United States, for the status of specific countries, and Circular 38b, Copyright Restoration Under the URAA Sooo..... this gives some direction... yes?

I'm with Dan. Most scripts aren't worth stealing and you can't copyright an idea anyway. So I wouldn't get too overwrought about it.

Stealing DOES happen, a little...in TV, at least. "Coming to America" was a famous movie example back in the '80s -- which was a while ago. "Northern Exposure" -- from the early 90s -- might be the most famous TV case http://www.moosechick.com/lawsuit.html but there are some more recent claims -- some of which, of course, might not be true. http://screenrant.com/hit-tv-shows-sued-ripoffs/?view=all So it's good to know some lawyers, just in case. :)

hello guys.thank you all for your comments. as Dan asked before. how many stories have proven they where stolen? the answer in my country is : so many! the industry field in Egypt is so corrupted.most of the commercial Egyptian features films are stolen idea from a successful box office American feature films. they have the guts to steal original well known worldwide feature films ideas and scripts to make some easy money..what will keep them away from stealing mine? the answer is : noting. they will do steal yours.because stealing is a common thing everyone knows about it of course not all of them are the same. every year there is 3 to 5 original feature films.come to light.beside 8 to 10 stolen ideas.my numbers aren't accurate though. i think it might be less. anyway.i'm glad that i have explained why i asked this question in the first place even if none of you asked me why :) Thank u guys.

Well, that's some interesting information! I guess...Keep making friends and alliances. If some of your friends and alliances are lawyers or have connections with the government, all the better.

This is a great question, besides protecting your work by registering it with the Writers Association, the other way is to produce it. Get the funding, make the film, enter it in the big festivals and find a distributor. People can still copy the concept, but you've published the idea first and will get the credit for it.

I would register with the WGA and have it Copyrighted. And of course the easy cheapest way is to mail the script to yourself in certified mail.

Doha The main 2 organizations that every one run to register with when they have at least a full treatment are : The USA copyright office http://www.copyright.gov/ . The writers guild of America https://www.wgawregistry.org/ but i believe you must have an address in the USA so they can accept your on line registration.

Outside the US most countries come under the International Copyright Convention. Copyright is created when you wwrite something so doesn't need registration however, registering it with, in some case a National Library, or the WGA etc. may be helpful in establishing prior claim. That said, most prodcos are pretty anal about being accused of copyright violation, which is why most will only accept from agents etc. and wont look at a spec script submitted directly. It is extremely rare to have a script 'stolen', in the one case in which I thought one of mine, produced, had been stolen an investigation showed that it was simply a case of great minds thinking alike.

NO ONE is going to steal your work.