Remember, you can only copyright your unique and original expression of an idea. So yes, sharing your script brings with it the risk of theft, but you can take steps to protect your work and it's also true that it takes more work to steal your story and try to get away with it than it does to just buy it from you.
Although many ideas get stolen or borrowed from, many other screenplays do get optioned, sold, and produced. If you want a chance to sell your screenplay, you just have to do what you can to protect it, keep a paper trail of conversations you've had and where you sent it.
If you want to ensure that your expression of an idea is secure, always register Scripts, Bibles, Treatments, notes from "workshops," or any other creative materials with the U.S. Copyright Office because you cannot enforce your copyright rights without that registration.
Registering a Script
In this case, you or your company is the copyright holder and should be listed under “Name of Author.” On the other hand, if a writer has created the screenplay on his own, and he is then selling it to you, the writer would be the author.
Remember, copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. So, a script or screenplay, as a detailed expression of an idea, is copyrightable.
There is no registration system for copyright under Australian law. Certain forms of expression, such as text, images and music, are automatically covered by copyright under the Copyright Act.
If you ever have to go to court because someone stole your script, you'll need a filed copyright or registration with the Writers Guild of America. If you have an official copyright and it's infringed upon, you have a better chance at getting compensated for damages and attorney's fees in court.
In fact, most working screenwriters sell scripts on spec less often than the past and instead get paid for OWAs, which means “Open Writing Assignment.” That means they're hired liked a freelancer to write an idea the production company already has. Still, yes — you can actually sell a screenplay without an agent.
Sharing Your Screenplay Means the Work Is Being Considered
Unless you're an independent workhorse that develops, writes, produces, finances, and directs your own features, there's no possible way to excel within the film industry without sharing your screenplays. No one is going to just give you a development deal.
According to writers, managers, and agents involved in greenlighting screenplays, there's a five to 20 percent chance of a screenplay being accepted and sold, says Script Magazine. Admittedly, those acceptance rates are pretty low, but that doesn't mean you should give up!
The Difference Between Stealing and Stealing.
It's rare that an experienced producer will actually steal a script from a writer. Anyone who's ever produced a movie knows it's much cheaper and easier to pay you for your screenplay than to defend a plagiarism lawsuit.
Yes! Anyone can sell a script to anyone they like. There's no legal requirement for writers to have an agent before selling a script. But one of the most common misconceptions among newbie writers is the notion that you need an agent before you can start selling scripts.
How much will Netflix pay for a script? The WGA reports that the median total pay for a screenplay deal with Netflix was $375,000, and the highest salary was reported as $4,000,000. As for rewrite deals, Netflix paid a median of $150,000, and the highest pay totaled $1,600,000.
Unfortunately, we cannot and do not accept or review any materials (whether manuscripts, treatments, scripts, drawings, ideas, pics of rainbow-colored unicorns, etc.) that we do not specifically request.
Shorter episodes tend to cost less but some writers have a fixed episode rate and charge per episode while others will have a fixed rate to produce all episodes for a series or season. Very generally speaking, TV episode scripts garner between $50,000 and $120,000 per episode based on WGA minimums.
Screenwriters usually receive an income either as a fixed per-script dollar amount or as a percentage of the total amount generated from the project. For example, a screenwriter whose script became a movie may earn a higher income if the film performs well at the box office.
Yes. Just like a paper prescription, you can give your token to a family member or other person to take to the pharmacy and pick up your medicines for you.
Copyright protection is free and automatic under the Copyright Act 1968.
There is no general exception that allows 10 per cent of a work to be reproduced without infringing copyright. Where a part of a work is copied, the issue is whether a substantial part of that work has been reproduced and an infringement has occurred.