TIP
and can easily be altered by the recipient.
There is no reason to go to the
trouble and expense of having the Copyright
Depositing Screenplays With the
Office retain your deposit for 75 years unless
Writers Guild of America
the work is very valuable and you think there is
a good possibility you could end up in copyright
For screenplays and similar works, registra-
litigation more than five years after you register
tion and deposit with the Writers Guild of
it—that is, after the Copyright Office would
America is actually better than full-term
normal y destroy your deposit. Keep in mind,
retention by the Copyright Office. The
however, that most infringements occur
Writers Guild is the scriptwriters’ union. It
relatively soon after publication. Since you can
represents writers primarily for the purpose
make your request for ful -term retention at any
of collective bargaining in the motion
time, wait until four or four-and-one-half years
picture, television, and radio industries.
after registration before making this decision.
The guild establishes guidelines regarding
Things may look very different by then.
payment for scripts and stories and giving
screen credit to authors. The guild does
not obtain employment for writers or
Mailing Deposit to Yourself
accept or handle material for submission to
As an alternative to paying the Copyright
production companies. Scripts, treatments,
Office for ful -term retention, you can mail
and so on must be submitted directly to
copies of your deposit to yourself (preferably production companies or through an agent.
by certified mail). This way, if you later
To help writers establish the completion
become involved in infringement litigation,
date and identity of works written for the
you can present the package in court to help entertainment industry, the Writers Guild
prove that your work existed in a certain
registers scripts deposited by writers and
form as of the date of the mailing. You
keeps them on file. If a dispute arises as to
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 93
the authorship of the material, the guild
A Tale of Two Writers
deposit constitutes proof that the material
Guild Branches
existed in a certain form as of the date of
the deposit. You need not be a member of
The Writers Guild is divided into two branch-
the Writers Guild to deposit a script with
es: Writers Guild West located in Los Angeles
the guild (indeed, you can’t join until you
and Writers Guild East headquartered in
have sold a script or story idea or performed
New York City. Technical y, the Guild West
other writing assignments).
covers the area west of the Mississippi River
and the Guild East covers the area east of the
Mississippi. However, regardless of where you
TIP
live, you may deposit your work with either
Depositing a copy of your script
branch. Since most of the film and televi-
with the Writers Guild is not a substitute
sion industries are located in Los Angeles,
for registration with the Copyright Office.
it’s advisable to register a screenplay, teleplay,
However, the deposit will help you prove that
or other work designed for film or television
you wrote the material deposited and when you
with the Writers Guild West. This will be
wrote it if an authorship dispute later arises (such
more convenient if you sue in Los Angeles
disputes are common in Hol ywood). Moreover,
for copyright infringement and need to have
many producers will not even read a script unless
someone from the guild testify about your
it has been registered with the Writers Guild.
deposit. (Such lawsuits must be filed where the
alleged infringer resides—that is, they would
likely have to be filed in Los Angeles, anyway.)
What can be deposited
However, if your work is most likely to be
produced in New York or elsewhere east of
The Writers Guild will register scripts, treat-
the Mississippi—for example, a stage play
ments, synopses, outlines, or written ideas
bound for Broadway—you may wish to
specifically intended for radio, television and
deposit it with the Writers Guild East. The
theatrical motion pictures, video cassettes/
procedure is the same as that described here,
discs, and interactive media. It also registers
except the fee is $25 for nonmembers of the
stage plays, novels, and other books, short
guild and the deposit is retained for ten years
stories, poems, commercials, lyrics, and
instead of five. For detailed information,
drawings. However, the guild does not
visit the Writers Guild East website at www.
register or protect titles. (See Chapter 5 for
wgaeast.org or cal 212-767-7801.
information about legal protection for titles.)
94 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Each property must be registered
Send your deposit to: WGAW Registry,
separately. However, three episodes, skits,
7000 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA
or sketches for an existing television series
90048; phone 323-782-4500; www.wga.org.
may be deposited as a single registration.
After your deposit is received, it is dated
and assigned a registration number. (By
Deposit procedure
the way, scriptwriting experts consider it
You can deposit your work electronical y over amateurish to put this number on your
the Internet, by mail, or in person. Go to the script when you submit it to agents,
Writers Guild website at www.wgawregistry.
producers, or actors.)
org, fill out the online registration form,
provide your credit card number to pay the
Duration of deposit
fee, and upload your work to the guild. The
The guild retains the deposit for five years.
registration fee is $20 for nonmembers and
You may renew the registration for an
$10 for members.
additional five years at the conclusion of
To register by mail or in person, submit
the term.
one 8.5" x 11" unbound loose-leaf copy of
your work along with the registration fee.
Note the specific field of writing and the
Correcting Errors After
proper writing credits on the title page. You Registration Is Completed
must also include a cover letter providing
After registration is completed, you may later
the author’s full name, Social Security
wish to correct, update, or augment your
number, return address, and phone
registration. This is accomplished by filing
number. Alternative
ly, the guild has a
an application for supplemental registration
form title page sheet on its website you can
with the Copyright Office. Supplemental
download, print out, and then fill out.
registration is discussed in detail in Chapter 4,
“Correcting or Changing Copyright Notice
or Registration.”
l
C H A P T E R
Correcting or Changing Copyright
Notice or Registration
4
Part I: Dealing With Errors or Omissions in Copyright Notice
Works Published After March 1, 1989 ...........................................................................................97
Copies Published Between January 1, 1978 and February 28, 1989 ............................97
Exception #1: Only Small Number of Copies Distributed ............................................98
Exception #2: Corrective Measures Taken to Cure Omission Within
Five Years of Publication .............................................................................................................98
Exception #3: Omission of Notice Violates Written Agreement .............................98
Exception #4: Works Published Outside the United States ........................................99
Works Published Before 1978 .............................................................................................................99
Notice Omitted by Licensees ................................................................................................... 100
Notice Omitted by Accident or Mistake............................................................................ 100
Works Published Outside the United States.................................................................... 100
Types of Errors or Omissions That Invalidate a Copyright Notice .............................101
Lack of or Error in Copyright Symbol ....................................................................................101
Error in Publication Year ..............................................................................................................101
Lack of (or Errors in) Name ........................................................................................................ 102
Part II: Dealing With Errors or Changes Affecting Copyright
Registration: Supplemental Registration
Why a Supplemental Registration Should Be Filed (When Appropriate) ............ 102
Corrections ......................................................................................................................................... 102
Amplifications and Changes ..................................................................................................... 103
When Supplemental Registration Is Not Appropriate .................................................... 104
Changes in Copyright Ownership .......................................................................................... 104
Errors or Changes in Content of Registered Work ........................................................ 104
Errors in Copyright Notice ......................................................................................................... 105
96 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Supplemental Registration Procedure ....................................................................................... 105
When to File ....................................................................................................................................... 105
Who Can File ..................................................................................................................................... 105
Completing the Application Form ........................................................................................ 105
Filing Form CA .................................................................................................................................. 107
Effect of Supplemental Registration ........................................................................................... 107
CHAPTER 4 | CORRECTING OR CHANGING COPYRIGHT NOTICE OR REGISTRATION | 97
Chapters 2 and 3 covered copyright You may also wish to add notices to those
notice requirements and registration copies that have already been distributed.
with the Copyright Office, respec-
Chapter 2 noted that a valid copyright
tively. This chapter shows you how to cope
notice contains three elements: (1) the
with errors, omissions, or factual changes
copyright symbol, (2) the publication date,
affecting your notice or registration.
and (3) the copyright owner’s name. Since
Berne era works need not have a copyright
notice, errors or partial omissions in these
Part I:
elements will not affect the copyright’s
Dealing With Errors or
validity. But if the notice itself is deficient
Omissions in Copyright Notice in one or more of these elements, a
judge might allow an infringer to claim
Publishing a work without a valid copyright innocence. (See discussion in Chapter 2,
notice may make it more difficult to win an “Copyright Notice.”) For this reason, it is
infringement suit or even result in loss of
advisable for the copyright owner to make
copyright protection; it all depends on when sure that errors in the notice are corrected the publication occurred.
in any subsequent printings of the work.
Later in this chapter we provide a detailed
Works Published After
discussion of the types of errors that
March 1, 1989
invalidate a copyright notice.
As discussed in Chapter 2, a copyright
notice is not required on any copies of a
Copies Published Between January 1,
work published on or after March 1, 1989.
1978 and February 28, 1989
This is so regardless of whether other copies The consequences of omission of, or errors of the same work were previously published in, the copyright notice in copies of works
before that date. (In this chapter, we’ll
published between January 1, 1978 and
refer to such copies as “Berne era” copies.)
February 28, 1989 (we’ll refer to these as
However, if a valid notice is not provided,
“decennial” copies) are much more serious
an infringer may be able to claim innocence than those for Berne era copies.
and escape paying you substantial damages.
Decennial copies must contain a valid
For this reason, if you discover that a
copyright notice to be protected by copy-
copyright notice was omitted from your
right. However, the copyright owner will
published work, make sure that one is
not lose his or her exclusive rights if any one
included on all new copies that are printed. of the following exceptions applies.
98 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Exception #1: Only Small Number
register the book with the Copyright Office
of Copies Distributed
or include a copyright notice. In 1988, he
found out about his error and decided to
Copyright protection will not be lost if
correct it in order to “rescue” his copyright.
the notice was omitted from no more
He registered the book with the Copyright
than a “relatively small” number of copies
<
br /> Office and made a reasonable effort to add
distributed to the public. The “relatively
a notice to all copies of the book distributed
small” criterion is deliberately vague, and
after he found out about his error. By doing
left for the courts to decide on a case-by-
so, he saved his copyright in the book from
case basis. Omission of notice from 1% or
entering the public domain.
less of the published copies will probably
satisfy the criterion. Omission of notice
Unfortunately, by the time you’re reading
from more than 1% may or may not be too this book it is too late for any copyright
much, depending on the circumstances.
owner to rescue a copyright by doing
It is not legally necessary to cure the
what Sam did in the example above. This
omission of copyright notices from a small
is because such corrective efforts had to
number of copies. However, it is advisable
be made within five years after the work
to make sure that the errors in the notice
was published prior to March 1, 1989.
are corrected in any subsequent printings or Thus, a work published on February 28,
other uses of the work.
1989 without notice entered the public
domain unless corrective action was taken
by February 28, 1994, or unless another
Exception #2: Corrective Measures
exception saving it from the public domain
Taken to Cure Omission Within
applies. Works published before February
Five Years of Publication
28, 1989 entered the public domain earlier.
Even if more than a small number of
copies lacked a valid copyright notice, the
Exception #3: Omission of Notice
copyright was not invalidated if, within five Violates Written Agreement
years after publication, the copyright owner
registered the work with the Copyright
Copyright protection will not be lost if
Office and made a reasonable effort to
the copyright owner licensed or otherwise
add a valid notice to all copies of the work
authorized another party—for instance, a
distributed after the omission was discovered. publisher—to handle the owner’s work and
had a written agreement with this party
EXAMPLE: Sam self-published a volume of
requiring it to place a notice on the material
poetry in 1987. However, Sam didn’t know
The Copyright Handbook Page 18