Time and again I receive calls from clients that are adamant that their script was surreptitiously stolen from them and manifested into the latest and greatest blockbuster. Usually the story goes like this:
I worked for years on my script about ______________ [fill in the blank], and a few years back I submitted it to an acquaintance at [big movie studio]. Then I never heard back from them. My contact at [big movie studio] personally knows [big time producer/director] and I heard that they talk about it but [big time producer/director] said he wasn’t interested. Lo and behold, [big time producer/director] just came out with [blockbuster movie] that just grossed $20 million this weekend. I want to sue!
These scenarios are so common and usually very hard to prove. The first problem is that most people never bother to obtain a federal copyright or even a writer’s guild registration. An even bigger problem is proving the defendant’s access to the work and substantial similarity. Case in point is the recent copyright infringement claim of screenwriter Christopher Merrill in Merrill v. Paramount Pictures, Corp. Merrill’s script was about a bunch of young kids that traveled across the US to get to Los Angeles to make their entertainment dreams come true, where one of the kids gave a fantastic audition which lead to bigger and brighter things for her. Coincidentally, Merrill envisioned none other than Ms. Britney Spears for the lead role.
Merrill sent the screenplay to several entertainment companies and allegedly even to Ms. Spear’s fan club. Of course, when the movie "Crossroads" came out, Merrill saw the similarities and sued Spears and many of the entertainment companies that he submitted his work to. Merrill’s case was dismissed as the judge concluded that a jury trial is not need because there was such a weak showing of the defendant’s access to the script. Further, Merrill failed to sufficiently show that the two scripts were similar, ie that the similarity itself greatly suggested copying as the only explanation.
So I am not saying that if your work was copied, that you should throw your hands up in the air. However, you must first obtain a federal copyright either through the US Copyright Office or through an attorney, (obtaining a writers’ guild registration is not enough!). Also, you must have a clear and documented paper trial, or other clear evidence that links the defendant to your work. And of course, the two works must be substantially similar. It’s not enough to have broad conceptually storylines to be similar, rather, the characters, the dialogue; essentially the fleshing out the story must be very similar to your work before you can even think about pursuing such a claim.
© 2006 Michael N. Cohen, Esq.
This article is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. You should consult with an attorney familiar with the issues and the laws.
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