The WGA script registration service is a service run by both the

Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a trade union, labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The WGAE and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), though independent entities, jointly brand the ...

(WGAE) and the

Writers Guild of America West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 me ...

(WGAW) to establish the date of creation of literary property, typically a motion picture

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

, useful in the often-contentious US entertainment field. The service supports the

WGA screenwriting credit system The Writers Guild of America (WGA) credit system for motion pictures and television programs covers all works under the jurisdiction of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW). The WGA, original ...

but is also available for non-members to use. This is one of the distinctions that makes the WGAE and WGAW true

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s and not simply a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

bargaining for existing members. Registration with the guilds has become important in

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

s for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

, especially where the degree of copying is very loose or vague or conceptual: invoking a guild itself as registrar indicates that the guilds' standard concept of property rights in literary works were expected to be followed by at least the registrant. Although registration is an important part of assisting in protecting a writer's rights to his or her work and determining compensation, registration is not the same as a US copyright. Although a registration may constitute evidence in a copyright dispute, registration is not proof of copyright registration or ownership. Additionally, an official copyright registration with the US

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

is required to invoke the jurisdiction of US federal courts, where most copyright infringement claims are adjudicated.

External links

Writers Guild of America, West script registry serviceWriters Guild of America, East script registry service
United States copyright law Intellectual property law Script registration service {{US-law-stub

See also

External links