If you were hired to write the screenplay, that screenplay may be a Work Made for Hire. Under this rule, the law considers the hiring party to be the “author” of the screenplay and, therefore, also the initial copyright owner. The Copyright Office will only accept registration applications from the author(s) or copyright owner(s).

Adaptations, remakes, spin-offs, sequels, and new series episodes are all examples of “derivative works.” Under the law, a derivative work is only copyrightable if it is lawfully made (i.e., the copyright owner of the original work authorized the derivative, or if the original work is in the public domain). The Copyright Office will want to know that you have that permission before it registers your derivative work. If your script is based on a prior work of yours, you naturally have permission to write the derivative as long as you retained those adaptation rights.

“Publication” is based on distribution of the work, either to the general public or to a group of people for the purpose of further distribution, performance, or display. Merely displaying a work is not publication. The Supreme Court has said that so long as you make a good faith attempt to get the right answer, even if it turns out you guessed wrong, that will not be a reason to invalidate your registration.

Legal Definition: Publication results from the distribution of copies of a work to the public by sale or orther transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. A work is also “published” if there has been an offering to distribute copies to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute “publication.”

Even non-U.S. creators of works must register with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to fully protect their rights under U.S. law. Read our blog on the topic.