by Leslie A. Sartor

Created on: May 02, 2008   Last Updated: May 04, 2008

The fear of plagiarism stops many writers from sharing their work with critique partners, entering contests or taking classes. It's a real fear, as high profile plagiarism has been in the news frequently, but should this fear stop us from submitting and sharing our work? No, you have various forms of protection and should use them.

Several years ago, when I had a contracted screenplay up for rewrites, I was concerned about not getting credit for the initial screenplay. And while that isn't exactly the same as plagiarism, the protection is the same. My development team told me that it would be incredibly difficult for a studio or an individual to prove that I hadn't written the original story, created the characters and the plot. Now, at that time, I already had the work registered by the WGA, but additionally, had other proof. I had my development team, my critiquing partners and the author of the book who all knew this work was mine. How? Because they knew when I started writing and what I was writing about. They could become witnesses if the need arose. So talk about your work and keep records as you work. Then, when finished use one of the methods below for registering your work.

As stated above, I protect my finished work using the WGAw registry and use that registration number on the front of everything I submit. It's not expensive, $20.00 and lasts for five years, with one five year renewal allowed. Find them at WWW.WGAREGISTRY.ORG.

The Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office is the most expensive way to establish a public record of copyright, but has the greatest longevity, lasting the life of the author plus 70 years if the work was created after 1978. Find them at WWW.COPYRIGHT.GOV.

A less secure route is common law copyright. Frankly, I want to be prudent in my protection and want to solidify ownership, so I've never gone with common law copyright which in its basic form is a date, either by a computer file or sending yourself a copy of your work in a self addressed, sealed and postmarked envelope.

So write, share and learn, and when your script is complete, please register it.

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