Copyright vs. WGA registry

I received an email from Larry Zerner, a copyright and entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles. He posted this recent article on his blog with a rather provocative title: “IT’S TIME FOR THE WRITER’S GUILD TO SHUT DOWN THE WGA REGISTRY.” Here’s how the article starts:

Since 1927, the Writers Guild of America, West Registry has existed as a place where professional and aspiring screenwriters can deposit their scripts. It exists solely to document a provable date of creation in the event there is a claim of copyright infringement. And yet for all the good intentions of the WGA in establishing the Registry, because writers treat it as a substitute for registration with the Copyright Office, its existence only serves to damage the interests and waste the money of WGA members. If the WGA is interested in making sure that its members receive the greatest possible protection for their scripts it should immediately shut the Registry down or take significant steps to make sure that the Registry does not act in a way that is antithetical to the best interests of screenwriters.

Over the years, the WGA has marketed the Registry as the place to register a screenplay. The WGA has made both Final Draft® and Movie Magic Screenwriter® preferred formats for the Registry and writers using these programs believe that depositing a script with the Registry is de rigueur. As a result, screenwriters have acquired the mistaken impression that using the Registry is all that is required to protect their screenplay. This perception is completely inaccurate and the WGA should take steps to correct it.

As a copyright lawyer and litigator in Los Angeles for almost 20 years, I have spoken to hundreds of writers, both established and newcomers, who contacted me because they were worried that their screenplay was stolen. One of the first questions I will ask the writer is whether they registered the script with the U.S. Copyright Office. While many do tell me that they have, a large percentage proudly tells me that they only registered the script with the Registry. This error is potentially costing writers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The reason for this is that according to §412 of the U.S. Copyright Act, in a lawsuit for copyright infringement, the Plaintiff cannot receive either attorney’s fees or statutory damages unless they registered with the Copyright Office before the infringement commences.

The bottom line per Zerner: Registering your manuscript with the WGA is not equivalent — in the eyes of the law — to copyrighting your script.

If anyone from the WGA happens to see this post, please feel free to respond. If not, I’ll try to contact someone from their registration office for comment.

For more, go here.

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