If they stole your stuff and make a movie of it, and if you've registered it properly, you should have a lawsuit on your hands that can freeze up any delivery of their movie and basically end the film's chance of distribution.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

I don't register my work, and I do NOT do lawsuits. Dirty business all around.

Is there another way to register work without using the wga?

I am still a believer in mutual trust and respect with-out a mile long paper trail.

All and all I'd rather be ripped off than spend one minute in a legal morass.

If you filed with the US copyright office you could avoid lawsuits by finding out who they expect to finance and/or distribute the stolen work and send them a copy of the copyright. Pretty much anyone would cut and run rather than face the risk of a lawsuit screwing up their investment.

You don't need to get into lawsuits but you should not openly admit you'll never do so as the it is really your only defense and you're telling everyone you won't even defend yourself. If the $20 registration isn't worthwhile to insure yourself against such foul folks I don't know what to tell you. You're doing everything possible to make it easy for folks to rip you off, and when things are easy, they are more likely to happen.

Anyway, congratulations on writing screenplays that are so desirable. Nobody would take the risk if they weren't particularly good.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

quote:

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Originally posted by alex whitmer
All and all I'd rather be ripped off than spend one minute in a legal morass.

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If you would rather be ripped off than register your
copyright then you will get your preference.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Did those filmmakers pay you for your material? What was the legal agreement? Were they obligated to make a movie from your screenplays-- perhaps they just decided not too use your screenplays. Was this for a feature screenplay, or a short film? I think you might be overreacting-- like I said maybe the filmmaker just lost interest; courteous as it might be to contact you, perhaps they just decided not too, or their email spam system trashed any correspondence from you to them.

quote:

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Originally posted by alex whitmer

Two aspiring filmmakers I met on this site, and for whom I wrote screenplays, have absconded with the material.

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I'm kind of curious about the nature of the crime as well. I mean you list on this post:
http://www.filmmaking.net/fnetforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5941
that you write shorts for free. So is this a case of a longer screenplay or are they refusing to put your name on the movie as the writer? Or did something else change?

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

It's not that I prefer to get ripped off. But I also don't want to get into ridiculous hassles over a five to ten page short. Actually one was 20.

I used to write for free in exchange for credits. That never happened. Now I get paid, with a 50% deposit to start, and the balance on reciept of the final draft. Then I wait for the balance, and it never comes.

What the F is wrong with the morals of filmmakers???

Crazy as it may sound, no amount of bad karma on one filmmakers side is worth the legal garbage that follows. I've had far more than just the two taken. Other forums are chock full of pubescent filmmakers looking to snag a screenplay and call it their own (film schools are famous for it).

In short, doing documentaries on the homeless wont cleanse your karma. Curteous beahavior from the start just might!

Thanx for listening!!

alex

Actor's pages ...

www.guerro.wordpress.com
www.thegoloafair.wordpress.com

My main page ...

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com

One little advantage to the copyright/WGA scheme is you can dump a dozen docs under the same form and still protect yourself. It may not be too late to copyright it. If they haven't applied for a copyright yet you could trump them, most likely they'd prefer to write a check than to deal with the hassles of their distribution being under a cloud.

Then again as has been discussed on this board there really isn't much of a distribution channel for shorts so they may not care and you may have no recourse either way.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Another stumbling block is that I don't live anywhere near the US, where the overwhelming majortiy of my work comes from. I'm hardly going to get on plane and duke it out over a twenty page script. I can write another.

I'm just profoundly disappointed by the moral flexibilty of so many filmmakers.

I'll look into the copyright thing. Maybe if they just see a reg # on the screenplay title page, it will at least tickle a brain cell or two.

a

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
www.thegoloaffair.wordpress.com

.

I'm not even sure you need to go that far. Copyrights and guild stuff are generally assumed I think. Just don't let anyone know you're opinion on lawsuits and otherwise protect yourself and it hopefully will never come to that.

For some reason I think your distance from the US might be part of why they felt they could screw you.

Still curious on the nature of the screwing. Are they going forward and filming the movie but not paying you, or did they drop the project and not pay you because they're not using it? What's the story, it might help the advice. And if they truly did abscond and you are 100% certain of that why not tell their names to help others protect themselves?

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Yes, what was the nature of the alleged screwing? From what I gather you write short scrips, for free. I am not sure there is any crime since if there is no "consideration" (contract term) then there was no contract. If no contract, no crime. If no movie was made from your free short script, maybe they just dropped the idea, changed their mind. Perhaps you are upset that your scripts were not made into movies-- if that is the case, fine, but that is not a crime. I would be careful naming people from this situation, you could be liable for libel/slander. But then as you say you are way on the other side of the world from the USA so perhaps it would not matter.

quote:

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Originally posted by rjschwarz

...Still curious on the nature of the screwing. Are they going forward and filming the movie but not paying you, or did they drop the project and not pay you because they're not using it? What's the story, it might help the advice. And if they truly did abscond and you are 100% certain of that why not tell their names to help others protect themselves?

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fwif, yes I always register my scripts, short or feature, with WGAw and also with the US Library of Congress Copyright Office. Some might consider that overkill, but it is my choice. I would rather be overprotected than underprotected.

quote:

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Originally posted by rjschwarz

One little advantage to the copyright/WGA scheme is you can dump a dozen docs under the same form and still protect yourself.

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I always register my scripts in both locations as well. It's cheap insurance.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Plus the US Lib of Congress Copyright Office now has a beta program for electronic registration of works. I signed up and register that way now, easy and fast, and no stamps needed. 🙂

quote:

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Originally posted by rjschwarz

I always register my scripts in both locations as well. It's cheap insurance.

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