Protecting Your Written and Musical Works
by Peggy Still Johnson
You have spent years creating your perfect script and/or you have spent months creating the soundtrack for your film. What next? First thing to do is copyright your work... so what is a copyright?
A copyright is the proprietary entitlement to reproduce, publish, distribute, or sell any work created to be classified as an intellectual property. In the United States, the Library of Congress manages copyrights. Some examples of works that can be copyrighted are songs, poems, plays, scripts, and audio-visual performances.
(Herman Wilkins – StudioBinder.com)
The cheapest way to copyright your work, also known as the “poor man’s copyright,” is to place it in a sealed envelope and mail it to yourself. The postmark provides the date mailed and for validity, it is important to remember to NOT open the envelope when you do receive it in mail.
I recommend spending the money and registering your creative work through the United States Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. You can upload your printed or recorded work and pay the nominal fee online and within minutes the process has begun. Within a few weeks, your Certificate of Copyright will arrive in the mail.
Nothing can completely protect your work from getting stolen, however, should you end up in a court of law fighting for your work that has been stolen, you will have some sort of proof of what and when you registered your work. It is important to document within the copyright all contributors of the work that you are registering.
Fun fact... In fiscal 2020, the Office issued more than 443,000 registrations and collected more than $33 million in registration application fees. (Copyright.gov)
Once your work is copywritten, you are ready to either develop or option your script. You may want to be part of the process by finding producers and funders to develop your script into a film or you may want to sell your script to the highest bidder. There is always a need for content and content is your intellectual property (IP). Just as creating your script or music soundtrack is a wonderful skill or talent, learning how to protect and monetize your creative IP is another valuable skill you may want to acquire.
Content is always needed – without content, we wouldn’t have films to watch and music to listen to or books to read. Have fun, enjoy the creative process, and like your first job, don’t expect to earn a lot for your first creative work. Be patient, it is a process. The more you create and pitch, the better your creative and selling skills will become. To make a great film you need three things: The script, the script, and the script. (Alfred Hitchcock)
**Peggy Still Johnson is a producer, composer, and music supervisor. She is the Vice President of External Affairs for GO Media Productions and works with Pendulum-Productions developing content and soundtracks for film. Peggy is a Board member of GIPA and USIPA and Chairs the EAS Committees for both.