Screenwriting : Copyright & Registration by Oliver Thompson

If you're specifically aiming for the UK market and you live there then you don't need to copyright it, if you're aiming for the US market then use the US copyright office (LOC). Don't bother with WGA and any private group offers no security for your money.

Hi Oliver... The simple act of writing it makes it copyrighted. No need to actually register it with any organisation. There may be different rules for other countries, ie: the USA, but even there I don't think you actually need to register etc.

Hey there, Oliver. For US-based registration purposes, try your luck at: www.copyright.gov .

The OP is also called Oliver

I'm also from the UK. I register all of my work at the US Copyright Office as well. They accept work from anywhere in the world. It's a lifetime copyright, and provides you with more tools to fight a case in the event your work is stolen. The only minor issue I had was when initially registering you have to give a phone number. Remember to use the UK calling code before your actual number. You can also use the UK Copyright Service. It only lasts for 5 (or 10) years, and then you have to renew.

UK copyright laws state that the copyright lies automatically with the author upon the work being written. Okay, so how do you prove that? Keep all e-mails filed into a folder separate from your Inbox. Proving copyright infringement is difficult and can drag on... when the answer is as simple as, "I wrote it can can prove it because he's an e-mail showing me sending the pdf to him, and then here's one with his notes," the real problem is not proving proof of authorship, but that the original copyright has been infringed.

Thank you very much everyone for all your advice!!! It really helps and I really appreciate it! A lot for me to consider