Copyright protection of scripts: knowledge points related to scripts in copyright registration and knowledge points related to scripts in copyright registration 1. What can I apply for copyright? There are four main criteria for deciding what can apply for copyright: 1. The work must be original. If you use Shakespeare's storyline, then this storyline cannot be copyrighted, only the part that is divorced from Shakespeare's works can. 2. It must be the independent expression of the author. What is protected is expression, not potential ideas. For example, your specific dialogue, paragraphs or visual images composed of several scenes, and the characters you portray can all apply for copyright protection, but your concept cannot be protected. As for what is an idea that can be stolen and what is the expression of the idea, the court will judge it according to the specific case. However, if it can be summed up in two sentences, it is thought. 3. The work must be in a form with no practical effect. You can't apply for copyright in contracts or specifications. A work that can apply for copyright must be in the form of tangible carrier, that is, it must be recorded on paper or computer, not what you said at lunch. Second, what should you do when you have an idea? Write it down! We should know that protecting expression without protecting ideas is a common principle in copyright laws all over the world. If creativity remains in your mind as an idea or inspiration, it may be preempted by others at any time. Therefore, through further refinement, the only way to protect creativity is to transform creativity into concrete forms of expression and record them in time, so that creativity can be transformed into real copyrighted content. Of course, this is only the first step. Because even if your idea has been protected by the Copyright Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) (hereinafter referred to as the Copyright Law), it may be completely copied, and that person will argue that I came up with it myself! So, you have to let the whole world know that you are the original author. The first thing you need to do is to sign your name. According to Article 11 of the Copyright Law, if there is no proof to the contrary, the signed citizen, legal person or other organization is the author. Therefore, signing is the first step for you to identify yourself as the author. Specifically, it is better to use handwriting, watermark, seal and other methods that are not easily changed. Furthermore, if your work has more than 65,438+0,000 words, copyright registration will be a good choice. After all, the authority of copyright registration Certificate is very meaningful for claiming rights. Or, you have another choice, which is to publish your work. The so-called publication means making ideas, opinions, articles and opinions public through newspapers, books and periodicals or public speeches. In the film and television industry, the adaptation of ideas into movies, TV dramas, micro-movies and other audio-visual works also belongs to publishing. However, before writing a script and registering, you must communicate your ideas with the producer or production company. How to prevent your own ideas from being copied when promoting? At this time, I suggest you carefully choose the production company, and don't send the script to the other party or leave it to the other party easily. When you show the script to the production company, try to get a paper version, and everyone who reads it will sign a confidentiality agreement until the other party decides to buy your script. This is not to ask the other party to bear the liability for breach of contract for script disclosure, but to ensure that once the work is copied, you have at least strong evidence to prove that the other party has read your script and has certain chips in negotiation with the other party. Even, once in the proceedings, this mode of operation is more conducive to the court to determine the other party's infringement or breach of contract. However, if you don't process and refine your ideas and fix them on a specific work, or others just borrow one of your ideas, it is still difficult to protect your ideas under the existing copyright law protection system. 3. What are the conditions for copyright registration? Although the creation itself can naturally obtain copyright, copyright registration can clearly show the ownership of copyright and form a strong proof of rights. Note that not only can the script be completed. Before the script is completed, the story outline diversity outline can be applied to copyright registration. Of course, not all materials need to be registered. Copyright registration needs a certain fee, which takes a long time. In view of the limited time and cost, it is wise to choose the most important content for registration. We suggest copyright registration when the creative material exceeds 654.38 million words. No matter for scripts, story outlines and diverse outlines, only such writing ability can accommodate the core ideas, main roles, basic plots and major drama conflicts of a script, reflect the original labor paid by the screenwriter for the script, and then pass the examination of the competent authorities more effectively. Fourth, how to carry out copyright registration? To apply for copyright registration, it is necessary to apply to the copyright bureau of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the author is located. If you are a foreigner, or come from Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong and Macau in China, you need to submit an application to the China Copyright Protection Center of the National Copyright Administration. First, you need to register on the website of copyright registration Center. The website of China Copyright Protection Center is: //www.ccopyright.com.cn/. After entering the website, go to the homepage of China Copyright Protection Center. In the work registration section, click the work copyright registration to enter the registration page, register and download the form to be filled in. Next, you need to sort out the corresponding materials according to the requirements of the website and submit them to the corresponding copyright bureau (copyright protection center). Generally speaking, these materials include: identification documents of the author or other copyright owners; Works; Description of the work; Rights protection; Work registration form, power of attorney, etc. If the materials do not meet the requirements of work registration, you will have 60 days to correct them, and then if they are confirmed, you will apply for a registration certificate within 30 working days. At this point, you have finished the long road to copyright registration. Of course, you can also consider asking professional institutions in copyright registration to do these things for you. However, the agencies in copyright registration are mixed, which is the current market situation. We should keep our eyes open when determining the agent. When using this method, you can first inquire about the copyright agency through the national enterprise information network, and at the same time log in to official website to understand the general situation; In the specific communication process, it is necessary to inquire about the operating conditions of the agency, compare the quotation information of different agencies, and make a decision. If conditions permit, it is best to ask them to sign a confidentiality agreement; At the same time, even if you choose an agency, you should go to the website of copyright registration center in advance to find out whether the relevant materials to be submitted meet the requirements of the agency, so as to prevent the submitted materials from being used for other purposes. 5. What if someone wants to buy your script? If you want your work to have a chance to get further development, when a production company or agency offers an olive branch, you should actively start negotiations. First of all, we should know each other's basic information and developed works to determine whether the other party is worth contacting. Secondly, during the negotiation, we should pay attention to the following points. First, as long as you don't sign a formal contract or confidentiality agreement, you can't send the core content of your script to the so-called trading partner. The original elements such as the core plot and the core characters of the script are all within this range. In other words, except for the basic story and a few fragments, it is best not to disclose them to each other. Even if you trust him very much, you can't do it easily. Because you trust him, it doesn't mean that he knows how to abide by the trading rules of the screenwriter industry. Once he sends the content to a third party (he means no harm), the third party may cause the script to be leaked. Second, don't get too excited when you receive the invitation, and make clear the cooperation intention of the other party (especially whether the other party really wants to develop the work and what is the form of development). In order to clarify each other's intentions, in the process of communication, be sincere, but don't be easily tempted by interests. Specifically, you need to know these things: whether the other party has provided a specific cooperation plan, return method, consideration, and whether the specific negotiation time for the next step has been determined. Generally, the person who finds you will not be the last person to make a decision, so there may be variables (such as the other boss disagreeing) after oral agreement. Then, for writers, the best way is to push communication to the level of contract negotiation as soon as possible. Third, if the other party takes knowing the details of the work as the premise of contract negotiation, then a confidentiality agreement becomes the top priority to prevent low-cost plagiarism. On the one hand, it can play a good role in prompting each other. On the other hand, the legal effect of confidentiality agreement also sets the final bottom line for protecting one's rights and interests. Finally, don't forget to keep the evidence in time to prevent it from being lost (for example, the other party takes the script without paying). Evidence is an important prerequisite for obtaining judicial relief. These evidences include e-mails, telephone recordings, various documents produced in the process of contract drafting, etc. At a certain moment, this evidence will play a very crucial role. In fact, these don't need to spend special energy. Screenshots, text messages and emails are all good methods.