How To Register Script With Copyright Office

Formally registering your script for a copyright protects your work from unlawful copying or other use of your original artistic expressions.

Before you start shopping your new script around, it's a good idea to annals your copyright through the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO). Taking this extra step allows yous to officially protect your script from theft, plagiarism, or other forms of infringement.

How Does Copyright Apply to Scripts?

A script is a written design of a play, show, or moving-picture show. A screenplay, however, has a narrower definition and is limited to telly programs and films. While in that location are subtle differences betwixt a script and a screenplay, the rules and processes for copyrighting each are roughly the aforementioned.

Copyrighting is among several categories of intellectual property (IP) protection, similar to trademarks and patents, designed to safeguard your "exclusive right" to claim an original work every bit your own—for a limited period of fourth dimension. So long equally your work represents the original (and not a reproduction) and has been reduced to a "tangible" or "stock-still" form (that is, information technology has been written on newspaper, typed electronically, recorded digitally, and and so on), the piece of work is granted copyright protection.

At a basic level, copyrighting a artistic piece of work—such as a script—has the effect of prohibiting individuals from engaging in copyright infringement or unauthorized use of your script, including intentional and inadvertent copying, publishing, transmitting, exhibiting, distributing, modifying, displaying, or otherwise using—whether for profit or not—the original creative expressions of others.

Why Copyright a Script?

If someone steals your script or uses information technology without your permission, you will need to have a copy of the script on file with the USCO to prove that your rights to copyright protection accept been violated. Unless and until y'all copyright your script and accept information technology on file with the USCO, it can be difficult to pursue an infringement action in federal court. Meanwhile, the wrongdoer may profit from plagiarizing your hard piece of work.

A creative work that has been formally granted copyright protection by the USCO is typically identified by the familiar © symbol. Yous don't need to attach a copyright notice to your script for it to receive copyright protection, merely a notice has the consequence of identifying the registered copyright possessor and informs others that the script is copyrighted. This tin can typically be accomplished by including the copyright symbol © in the footer of each page.

Benefits of Script Copyright Registration

Although all original works, including scripts, immediately and automatically attain mutual police force copyright condition as soon equally they are in writing, registering your copyright provides significant benefits. For instance, registration with the USCO extends for the life of the scriptwriter, plus 70 years. Registration creates a public record of your copyright buying and the appointment the script was created.

Once your copyrighted script is on file, y'all can sue to recover monetary damages for any economic loss that may result from the infringement. And, if you lot annals your copyright earlier the infringement occurs, you can sue for copyright infringement and seek recovery of statutory damages and reimbursement of legal fees.

The bones steps involved in copyrighting a script are:

ane.Register your script with the USCO: The USCO offers an online registration organization known as "eCO," which permits a scriptwriter to complete the registration procedure electronically simply by setting upwards a username and password. And while you may annals a copyright by postal service, the electronic registration process is faster and less plush.

two.Pay the required fee:Whether you use online or via newspaper, copyright registration currently costs less than $100. Yous can pay by credit, debit, ACH transfer, paper check, or money order.

three.Submit a copy of the script:The USCO requires you to submit a copy of your script past uploading information technology to the organisation.

4.Wait for your registration to exist processed: If you take submitted an awarding online, you'll receive an electronic mail confirmation that your application was received. In some cases, it may take several months to a year to receive detect that your copyright registration has been approved.

Source: https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-to-copyright-a-script

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