I am the attorney for an individual in the entertainment industry who had an interesting idea for a television or feature film. In order to attract a producer who could arrange to finance this movie, my client first needed to obtain a screenplay. He approached an individual and offered to pay him $30,000 to write the screenplay.
The parties entered into a written agreement. The screenwriter did not want the agreement to say he was the writer because of various obligations he had to his guild that he wanted to avoid. My client paid $30,000 for a completed screenplay.
The parties are now at odds and the writer is claiming he was not paid for the script and that he owns the screenplay. This raises the issue of ownership of the copyrights.
We believe this screenplay is what is known as a “work for hire” and that my client owns the copyrights. A work for hire is defined as a “work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment”. If not created as part of an employer-employee relationship, the work can still qualify as a work for hire if it fits into one of none categories including that it was part of a motion picture, and the parties agree in writing that it is a work for hire.
While this sounds simple enough, there is a ton of case law that defines when the relationship was that of employer-employee and when a written agreement sufficiently complies with the copyright law.
Robert G. Klein, Esq. is a Los Angeles trademark attorney and a Los Angeles business lawyer who specializes in trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and unfair competition. He feels it is important to hire a Los Angeles trademark lawyer and a Los Angeles business lawyer if one is involved in litigation in that locale. Robert G. Klein is a prominent Los Angeles business attorney and is available for consultation on matters involving trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and business law matters. He has successfully obtained many multi-million dollar jury verdicts. Many of Mr. Klein’s court decisions have been published as case authority and he has appeared before the United States Supreme Court for oral argument. Mr. Klein has also published “Consumer List: Trade Secret or Fair Game?”, which is an article published in the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine. Los Angeles trademark infringement attorney Robert G. Klein can be reached at (213) 996-8508 or visit our web site at http://www.kleinlitigation.com