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March 08, 2005
Did I just get ripped off, AGAIN???
In July, 2002 Morgen and I wrote this Um... Anyone?? Some suggestions here? Let me clairify something: When I said "treatment" I didn't mean an actual legitimate treatment for a movie that should have been registered with the WGA. This was a short story, one of many we wrote and called them "treatments" since they were about movies, but it was never written with the intention of being submitted and we didn't expect a movie to be made of it. That said, we did think it was a good idea and had worked on a real script that we never finished or did much of anything with, but that's not the point. I'm looking at this more from the perspective of that I wrote a story 3 years ago and put it online with a copyright at that time and now, three years later someone is working on a movie that seems "heavily influenced" by my story. Right down to the exact same name. Not I wrote this movie and now someone else is making the same thing without giving me credit. So, while I appreciate the advice and concerns, please stop telling me about the WGA and how I should have registered my treatment or how I shouldn't have put my ideas on the web. It was a short story written FOR the web, so that was the entire point of it. Thanks!Posted by sean on March 8, 2005 10:04 AM | View blog reactions
Previous Entry: etech schedule on your iPod Next Entry: On Technorati & Censoring employee blogs SCREWED! Posted by: Mat on March 8, 2005 10:32 AM
sean, the same thing happened to one of my writing partners and i. we submitted a script to various studios called "hostage" about a family that is taken hostage by their son and the cop that finally saves them. that was about two years ago. guess what is coming out soon? "hostage" starring bruce willis as a cop who saves a family that has been taken hostage by a family member. mmmm. my good friend and attorney says that unless we can show an explicit paper trail from us to the filmmakers, we don't have much of a case. we are still considering our options. maybe its just a coincidence? Posted by: chris on March 8, 2005 11:05 AM
Advice given me long ago was to send a certified/ registered letter to myself with copies of what was sent out for 'review'. Don't open the letter to yourself... just mark on the outside for your future reference. Then you have a 'paper trail' to take to an attorney... should the need ever arise. Posted by: jo-ann on March 8, 2005 12:08 PM
The certified/registered mail suggestion listed by Jo-Ann is a good precaution. For future works you might want to think about utilizing the registration services offered by the Writers Guild of America at: https://www.writersguild.org/webrss/dataentry.asp Not sure of the cost but I believe it's available to anyone, not just members. Posted by: Will Campbell on March 8, 2005 01:53 PM
This is a test - I can't post comments - grr. Posted by: cybele on March 8, 2005 02:54 PM
Even if you've copywritten your material and have proof, they still need to see how your material got before the writers or studio. It's odd, because I see this wave of people "stealing ideas" as part of the whole "music should be free" belief. I mean, to someone who "steals" music, what's the difference between that and adapting someone elses idea they read on the web for another medium? Posted by: cybele on March 8, 2005 02:56 PM
At the advice of 60 bazillion people I have no registered the story. who knows. From what I gather the studio connection thing is when a movie rips off another movie, and I'm looking at this more in the vein of I wrote a story and published it widely in LA in 2002 and now three years later 2 writers from LA are pitching a story that is freighteningly similar. There has to be something set up for people NOT in the movie industry getting ripped off. I mean, Miramax had to pay someone for the rights to Lord of the Rings right? Even though Tolkken probably never registered it as a script? Posted by: sean bonner on March 8, 2005 03:28 PM
Forget about it. Seriously and with all due respect. Unless the writers have actually stolen lines you've written, names of characters etc, you are stymied. And at that, the lawyers fees and the time and grief... That may not seem like much of a suggestion...but believe me it is. Know this and content yourself: in all likelihood your 'idea' was not stolen, that your short story was of no influence on the writers/creators, and that, when and if you do see the film, you won't recognize yourself or your efforts anywhere in it. Posted by: bmo on March 9, 2005 01:38 AM
Sean, same thing happened to me. I wrote a short story, published it on the Web, and then about four years later saw a pre-production announcement for a very, very similar script. I'm sure it was my story -- the concept was so bizarre that no one could have come up with the same idea. You could wait until you see how good a job they do with it and how much money they make. Then sue them. Until then, well, they're just doing the hard part for you, aren't they? Or, just be happy that someone liked something you wrote. Not everything's about getting cash or credit. Posted by: Travis Smith on March 9, 2005 01:17 PM
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