To be completely clear, you own the copyright of any work that you create. End of story. What you’re doing by following these processes is REGISTERING your copyright. This is important because it makes it easier to prove ownership of the copyright. Think about it from a legal challenge point of view, if you have a file on your computer or having a sealed copy with a dated postmark just proves that you had it on a particular date, not that you created it. If you’re sending work on spec, by all means register the copyright to protect yourself. Excellent advice here.
4:50 “*Poorman’s Copyright*” is a method of mailing a self-addressed-stamp envelope to yourself and not opening it (SASE). Though there may be a some(???) international countries (Nigeria???) that accept the poor man’s copyright process, *it has NO legal authority in US Copyright Law -- the poor man’s copyright is an on-going MYTH that just won’t die!* When you mail your creative work in a SASE, all you’re proving is the US Post Office can mail a letter/package back to you. And it’s easy to challenge/defeat the poor man’s copyright protection: I’ve actually mailed myself an empty SASE by folding the seal into the letter. When needed, I can then take any script, place it into the unsealed envelop, and lick it shut, and use the two-year old US Post stamp date as my proof. You can also steam-open a sealed envelope. I’m recalling Tad Crawford, copyright attorney, stating that in one particular copyright dispute, the defendant’s attorney accused the plaintiff (copyright owner) of tampering with the envelope. I’m certain all defendants will use this “tampering” argument to challenge copyright infringements who use the poor man’s copyright creation claim. As the US Copyright Office (USCO) states, “The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a ‘poor man’s copyright.’ There is NO [emphasis added] provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is *NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR REGISTRATION* [emphasis added]. Source: www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#poorman FYI: Your SASE will NOT be opened in court; you’re USA IP/copyright attorney will have to open it in his/her office to review its evidentiary authenticity, and then what? Will your attorney have to be a witness in your case? The court will dismiss your poor man’s copyright date/stamp claim without prejudice; to proceed, you’ll have to get your script officially *“registered’* with the USCO. When you write a script, you receive an automatic copyright. To enforce your automatic copyright and help *PROVE* your authorship (and its date of creation) and copyright ownership claims to a US federal judge, it MUST(!) be “timely” registered with the USCO, either registered as an un-published work or registered within five-years of its first-date of publication. (If you register more quickly, either before the copyright infringement begins OR registered within three-months of first publishing your work, you can pursue statutory damages & possible attorney fees and legal costs against the infringer). When completing a copyright registration application, you must check a box to *“certify”* to the best of your knowledge that all the information you’ve included is correct (i.e., who’s the creator of the work, who’s the copyright owner, date of creation, date of publication, etc.). If you knowingly lie or misrepresent a material issue, you’re subject up to a $2,500 FINE. Source 17 USC 506(e): False Representation [Criminal Offenses]). *The US copyright registration system via is very much a vetting process to help authenticate your copyright claim’s validity.* It’s not necessarily about having a RAW or original file or unpublished manuscript that proves your copyright creation - a US federal judge MUST see your *issued* copyright “Certificate of Registration.” Your Certificate will include your “effective date of registration,” the OFFICIAL US government date stamp! So, you help PROVE your copyright creation and corresponding copyright ownership by quickly registering it with the USCO. Mailing a seal letter to yourself or using any “time-standing protection” (like email) might make you feel better, but it will not hold up in federal court! To have legal standing, the court *MUST(!)* see your issued copyright Certificate of Registration to help prove your creation & ownership claims. So, when a US-based copyright infringer/producer (script stealer) challenges your script authorship, just show him/her your issued copyright Certificate of Registration -- that’s your (presumptive) legal (court) evidence!
(2 of 3) *How to “Register” Your Literary Works (screenplays) With the US Copyright Office (USCO):”* 4:05 If you’ve have 1) correctly filled out your copyright registration application AND there are no issues AND 2) you have included the correct application fee AND 3) your deposit (what you’re registering) is in good order, the day the USCO *RECEIVES* those three things is the date your work has been OFFICIALLY “registered” (not “copyrighted”) with the USCO, even though it may take the USCO a couple of weeks or months to process and mail you your copyright *“Certificate of Registration.” The USCO will email you two or three emails within an hour or so after completing your on-line application (save those important emails along with your issued Certificate!)* You do NOT have to re-register your un-published work when it gets published. If, however, you made (material) changes/deletions to it, then you should register it as a derivative work (use the Standard Application). If you’ve registered an UN-published work, I would wait at least one, and preferably TWO-full days after receiving the USCO’s emails, BEFORE you begin shopping, displaying, selling, licensing, delivering the work to clients and others. Keep really good notes on when & where you started shopping, licensing, etc. your work to others.
(3 of 3) *How to “Register” Your Literary Works (screenplays) With the US Copyright Office (USCO):”* 4:05 *Additional helpful US Copyright Office Information links:* What is copyright: www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ US copyright Law basics: www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf Copyright Office FAQ: www.copyright.gov/help/faq/index.html Copyright Registration: ruclips.net/video/mM5fs2TCMKs/видео.html Submitting Your Work to the Copyright Office: ruclips.net/video/0w29otj5s6Y/видео.html
My best friend sent a story off to Paramount as an idea for a Star Trek movie. He didn't copyright it. They told him they could use the story and a couple years later Star Trek generations came out and it was the exact story that he had written. How do I know cuz I'm the one that went over the book before he sent it off and told him that he needed to copyright it to be safe and he didn't believe me.
To be completely clear, you own the copyright of any work that you create. End of story. What you’re doing by following these processes is REGISTERING your copyright. This is important because it makes it easier to prove ownership of the copyright. Think about it from a legal challenge point of view, if you have a file on your computer or having a sealed copy with a dated postmark just proves that you had it on a particular date, not that you created it. If you’re sending work on spec, by all means register the copyright to protect yourself.
Excellent advice here.
4:50 “*Poorman’s Copyright*” is a method of mailing a self-addressed-stamp envelope to yourself and not opening it (SASE). Though there may be a some(???) international countries (Nigeria???) that accept the poor man’s copyright process, *it has NO legal authority in US Copyright Law -- the poor man’s copyright is an on-going MYTH that just won’t die!*
When you mail your creative work in a SASE, all you’re proving is the US Post Office can mail a letter/package back to you. And it’s easy to challenge/defeat the poor man’s copyright protection: I’ve actually mailed myself an empty SASE by folding the seal into the letter. When needed, I can then take any script, place it into the unsealed envelop, and lick it shut, and use the two-year old US Post stamp date as my proof. You can also steam-open a sealed envelope.
I’m recalling Tad Crawford, copyright attorney, stating that in one particular copyright dispute, the defendant’s attorney accused the plaintiff (copyright owner) of tampering with the envelope. I’m certain all defendants will use this “tampering” argument to challenge copyright infringements who use the poor man’s copyright creation claim.
As the US Copyright Office (USCO) states, “The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a ‘poor man’s copyright.’ There is NO [emphasis added] provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is *NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR REGISTRATION* [emphasis added]. Source: www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#poorman
FYI: Your SASE will NOT be opened in court; you’re USA IP/copyright attorney will have to open it in his/her office to review its evidentiary authenticity, and then what? Will your attorney have to be a witness in your case? The court will dismiss your poor man’s copyright date/stamp claim without prejudice; to proceed, you’ll have to get your script officially *“registered’* with the USCO.
When you write a script, you receive an automatic copyright. To enforce your automatic copyright and help *PROVE* your authorship (and its date of creation) and copyright ownership claims to a US federal judge, it MUST(!) be “timely” registered with the USCO, either registered as an un-published work or registered within five-years of its first-date of publication. (If you register more quickly, either before the copyright infringement begins OR registered within three-months of first publishing your work, you can pursue statutory damages & possible attorney fees and legal costs against the infringer).
When completing a copyright registration application, you must check a box to *“certify”* to the best of your knowledge that all the information you’ve included is correct (i.e., who’s the creator of the work, who’s the copyright owner, date of creation, date of publication, etc.). If you knowingly lie or misrepresent a material issue, you’re subject up to a $2,500 FINE. Source 17 USC 506(e): False Representation [Criminal Offenses]).
*The US copyright registration system via is very much a vetting process to help authenticate your copyright claim’s validity.* It’s not necessarily about having a RAW or original file or unpublished manuscript that proves your copyright creation - a US federal judge MUST see your *issued* copyright “Certificate of Registration.” Your Certificate will include your “effective date of registration,” the OFFICIAL US government date stamp!
So, you help PROVE your copyright creation and corresponding copyright ownership by quickly registering it with the USCO. Mailing a seal letter to yourself or using any “time-standing protection” (like email) might make you feel better, but it will not hold up in federal court! To have legal standing, the court *MUST(!)* see your issued copyright Certificate of Registration to help prove your creation & ownership claims.
So, when a US-based copyright infringer/producer (script stealer) challenges your script authorship, just show him/her your issued copyright Certificate of Registration -- that’s your (presumptive) legal (court) evidence!
This is one of the best videos.. Can you do a video of you actually registering a script online? So we can see how it's done step by step...
You will🐝 fine
(2 of 3) *How to “Register” Your Literary Works (screenplays) With the US Copyright Office (USCO):”*
4:05 If you’ve have 1) correctly filled out your copyright registration application AND there are no issues AND 2) you have included the correct application fee AND 3) your deposit (what you’re registering) is in good order, the day the USCO *RECEIVES* those three things is the date your work has been OFFICIALLY “registered” (not “copyrighted”) with the USCO, even though it may take the USCO a couple of weeks or months to process and mail you your copyright *“Certificate of Registration.” The USCO will email you two or three emails within an hour or so after completing your on-line application (save those important emails along with your issued Certificate!)*
You do NOT have to re-register your un-published work when it gets published. If, however, you made (material) changes/deletions to it, then you should register it as a derivative work (use the Standard Application).
If you’ve registered an UN-published work, I would wait at least one, and preferably TWO-full days after receiving the USCO’s emails, BEFORE you begin shopping, displaying, selling, licensing, delivering the work to clients and others. Keep really good notes on when & where you started shopping, licensing, etc. your work to others.
(3 of 3) *How to “Register” Your Literary Works (screenplays) With the US Copyright Office (USCO):”*
4:05 *Additional helpful US Copyright Office Information links:*
What is copyright: www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/
US copyright Law basics: www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
Copyright Office FAQ: www.copyright.gov/help/faq/index.html
Copyright Registration: ruclips.net/video/mM5fs2TCMKs/видео.html
Submitting Your Work to the Copyright Office: ruclips.net/video/0w29otj5s6Y/видео.html
My best friend sent a story off to Paramount as an idea for a Star Trek movie. He didn't copyright it. They told him they could use the story and a couple years later Star Trek generations came out and it was the exact story that he had written. How do I know cuz I'm the one that went over the book before he sent it off and told him that he needed to copyright it to be safe and he didn't believe me.
Oh Okay, gorgeous! Great info and great video!!