Screenwriting : WGA Registration v. US Library of Congress by David Liberman

I am noticing over and over again that many of you good folk seem to be confusing a registration with the Writers Guild of America (east and west) with a copyright through the US Library of Congress. I keep reading people saying on posts (here on this site), "First thing you should do is register your script with the WGA..." or ' You must protect your screenplay by registering it with the WGA..." or some other nonesense like that. So, let's clarify the difference between the two, shall we? 1.) The WGA does not copyright your work. It does not verify ownership of the screenplay. It verifies authorship. According to the WGA website: "The registration process places preventative measures against plagiarism or unauthorized use of an author's material. While someone else may have the same storyline or idea in his or her material, your evidence lies in your presentation of your work. Registering your work does not disallow others from having a similar storyline or theme. Rather, registering your work would potentially discourage others from using your work without your permission. Though the Registry cannot prevent plagiarism, it can produce the registered material as well as confirm the date of registration. Registering your work creates legal evidence for the material that establishes a date for the material's existence. The WGAW Registry, as a neutral third party, can testify for that evidence." 2.) The US Library of Congress handles ALL copyrights in this country. Copyright is ownership. It doesn't verify who wrote the screenplay. It verifies who owns the thing only. When you sell your screenplay, one of the papers you will sign is a transfer of copyright. This is standard. It turns you, the writer, from owner into a work-for-hire. You lose any and all control over your screenplay in the process. (Hopefully you signed this for some money in return). 3.) Authorship and ownership are two very different things. Ownership refers to the person or party who has control over the screenplay. It is the person or entity that OWNS it. Authorship refers to the person who WROTE the screenplay. Now, sometimes they are the same. Many times they are not. An example: INCEPTION was written by Christopher Nolan. He is the author. He does not own the screenplay. When he sold it to Warner Brothers, they became the owner and the copyright holder. If HBO plays INCEPTION, they do not write a check to Christopher Nolan, but to Warner Brothers. Today the current rates are - WGA Registration = $20, US Library of Congress - $30. For a grand total of $50. AND YES YOU SHOULD DO BOTH!!!!! ...But if your concern is theft and legal recourse, and you had to choose betwen a WGA Registration or a copyright via the Library of Congress, always choose the US Library of Congress. It carries more weight in our legal system. Ownership outweighs authorship in the eyes of a judge and jury. Plus -- and here's the clincher -- if you sue for copyright infringement and win, but you did not copyright with the Library of Congress, you cannot ask for attorney fees... Also, just to nip this in the bud. Mailing yourself a copy of the screenplay via the US Post Office or any other postal service as proof of ownership (aka a Poor Man's Copyright) is an urban legend and does not hold up in court... Just an FYI Hope this helps...