I am a newbie.  I have read i/you should not send unsolicited screenplays to lawyers, management or agents without having a (C), WGA register or "Blurt" at a producer, but it is OK to enter a competition, ask other writers to critique the whole screenplay and send query ltrs or email to those same people with a Concept / Elevator Pitch or Synopsis 2 pg ?  Have I missed any steps?  Just curious

Doug not sure what you mean here by process... but I'll try and answer/help based on my knowledge/experience and on the understanding that you seem to be asking about both how to get your script to people and the risk of said material being copied or otherwise ripped off.

You are granted Copyright by the act of creation of an artistic work, proving this is sometimes the issue so people often use WGA Registration or Library of Congress etc to provide proof that you created and importantly, when.

Unsolicited screenplays to anyone gatekeeper is usually frowned upon unless you already know that they are open to such approaches. The reasons are that they get inundated with material and probably won't look at it anyway - so you are wasting your time. The other reason they won't look at it is to avoid any claims down the line that they copied someone else's work.

Normal form if you want to contact gatekeepers that you do not have a relationship with is to send them a query letter, briefly explain who you are, what your script is (logline etc) and ask them if they'd be interested in taking a read. But this isn't a two page pitch type thing, again probably too much and reveals maybe more of your concept than would be right for an initial query... though they may ask for this down the line.

Competitions, yep, fine... entering does provide some evidence that you had script XYZ at entry date, though I've never heard of this actually coming up.

Asking other writers to critique, well if you mean on a site like this... then again you are putting your script on a site, some evidence of your script existing at that point in time. Personal interactions you'd have email but not sure how helpful that'd be.

I've written a bunch of articles that might help with some of this - https://anthonycawood.wordpress.com/category/articles/

On the subject of having your scripts ripped off... well it is very rare but does occasionally happen. Two things to note... an idea can't be copyrighted, just the execution. So the idea of your script could appear in another film and be pure co-incidence, Characters, blocks of dialogue, complete plot copying and that sort of thing can lead to lawyers getting involved BUT it is still not cut and dried.

It's a catch 22, you want to get your scripts out there but you don't want them to be plagiarised. Personally, I register my scripts with Write Vault as proof of when I finished that particular script but beyond that I don't worry about it as it's hard enough to get people to read features without paranoia holding you back.

Hope that helps a little.

I concur with Anthony here.  

The other thing to add is that unknown amateurs (like me at least) are not likely to have our scripts stolen by a Producer since we come so cheap anyway.

You're more likely IMO to have your script stolen by a wannabe writer - BUT - if you want to be in the biz, I see little choice but to get your script exposure (i.e., unless you are producing your own).

I would say always protect your work before you send it out there. Always put Copyright © (and the year if you want) plus a note on the title page saying this work cannot be used or reproduced without the express permission of the author.

Best method is to then register it with the Library of Congress, which is what I do.

Cheapest method is to send a hard copy to yourself via the postal service and keep it in the envelope. This is in effect the proof of the date you registered the copyright. You can also enter it into a few competitions online so there's a digital signature as well.

At the end of the day though, if someone wants to steal your work, they can. It's quite hard for unknowns to prove otherwise. It's best to just try and get your work out there so you have a chance of NOT being an unknown lol.

I saw an interesting interview of a producer on YouTube. Wish I could remember the title.
He was talking about the indications of an amateur when he gets a spec script, one of them is putting the WGA number on the front. Or any copywright blurb.
He was arguing that when you do this, it creates a 'hands off' mentality on the first page, and it is like saying that 'my work is so good and so profound that don't you dare steal it'.

I thought it was a fair point.

Quoted from HyperMatt I saw an interesting interview of a producer on YouTube. Wish I could remember the title. He was talking about the indications of an amateur when he gets a spec script, one of them is putting the WGA number on the front. Or any copywright blurb. He was arguing that when you do this, it creates a 'hands off' mentality on the first page, and it is like saying that 'my work is so good and so profound that don't you dare steal it'. I thought it was a fair point.

I've seen that advise (in several places)  as well - seemed silly too me. They know you're a writer and as such should have an interest in protecting your script. Why would they not think - hey. this writer doesn't care to protect their script - must be crap.

As mentioned, copyright is part of the act of creation, a producer or director with any experience/scruples already knows and understands that.

So what you are really talking about is protecting yourself against the unscrupulous or inexperienced.

For the inexperienced, students and the like... then the Paragraph about 'not to be used without express consent' type thing could work to prevent them using your script.

I'd personally suggest that this only really happens in the case of short scripts, not many inexperienced/students can even attempt a feature. So the paragraph may be useful on short scripts.

Leaving the unscrupulous...

I'm afraid here they won't be put off by a copyright statement, they already know it is. Here's where you need something that would provide proof that you are the original author. Here, WGA, LOC, competition entries, Write Vault etc will all help - I think the days of the sealed envelope are behind us though. But this will hopefully never be tested!

Personally, I register everything with Write Vault to get a timestamp and proof of when I wrote the actual script in question (they store a copy)... I don't do the paragraph thing but I've had my shorts made by students on 5 separate occasions without my permission - so maybe I should.

I've never paid for copyright, nor paid to register a script with any type of service. Never done me any harm. I've never paid for phone insurance either... so much so that were I to lose my phone, with the money I've saved not buying phone insurance I could likely buy another 4.

Quoted from DustinBowcot I've never paid for copyright, nor paid to register a script with any type of service. Never done me any harm. I've never paid for phone insurance either... so much so that were I to lose my phone, with the money I've saved not buying phone insurance I could likely buy another 4.

There's a difference between a phone and your script though. Your script is potentially worth half a million dollars.

There's some talk going around that James Franco stole The Disaster Artist from one of his students (Yes Franco apparently is a professor at a university). Well, he bought it off him for only 5000 bucks and then after a rewrite, gave him zero credit on the film. The student is suing Franco but having his original script registered with WGA would help his case.

Quoted from RJP There's some talk going around that James Franco stole The Disaster Artist from one of his students (Yes Franco apparently is a professor at a university). Well, he bought it off him for only 5000 bucks and then after a rewrite, gave him zero credit on the film. The student is suing Franco but having his original script registered with WGA would help his case.

Just as it would help his case if he had a digital signature, like sending the script to Franco through email.

I have ghostwritten a script for less than 5k. Albeit a different area completely. I don't think I'd be so happy selling one of my own ideas for that price. Right now I'm working on a drama as a secondary writer even though I am the primary/only. I'm doing it because I'm being paid... and also because it has genuine legs and could help me to the next level.

I don't know the ins and outs of this 5k deal, every deal is different. Could it be that this kid knew what he was getting into from the beginning?

Quoted from DustinBowcot Just as it would help his case if he had a digital signature, like sending the script to Franco through email. I have ghostwritten a script for less than 5k. Albeit a different area completely. I don't think I'd be so happy selling one of my own ideas for that price. Right now I'm working on a drama as a secondary writer even though I am the primary/only. I'm doing it because I'm being paid... and also because it has genuine legs and could help me to the next level. I don't know the ins and outs of this 5k deal, every deal is different. Could it be that this kid knew what he was getting into from the beginning?

Yeah who knows. Having the script registered with WGA might expose that there isn't a word from his original script that was used. I'm not sure who's screwing who. Apparently his lawsuit states that Franco promised him a credit on the film.