Protecting IP for Screenwriters & TV Format Creators - An Introduction for Lawyers

Introduction

Advising screenwriters or TV format creators? This specialist yet accessible half-day course equips lawyers with a clear, practical understanding of the legal protections shaping film, television, and unscripted format development.

Focusing on screenwriting and TV game show and reality formats, the course provides an overview of the documentation, deal structures, and legal mechanisms commonly encountered in the industry.

It is designed for solicitors and legal advisers who are new to this area, expanding into media practice, or seeking a stronger grounding when advising creative clients.

The course examines how protection can be maximised from the earliest stages of development, while highlighting the common missteps first-time writers and format creators often make, and how advisers can help clients avoid them.

Key topics include copyright and confidential information, the strategic use (and potential drawbacks) of NDAs, defamation (libel) risks, preserving non-TV and non-film publishing rights, and identifying merchandising opportunities.

The course also explains core industry concepts (Options, Shopping Agreements, Assignments, Turnarounds, Warranties, and Indemnities), clarifying their purpose, operation, and likely commercial effect.

Issues such as ‘development hell’ and the role of agents are addressed from an advisory perspective.

This course offers lawyers a practical framework for advising screenwriters and format creators with confidence, enabling you to add real value at the development stage and support clients through the realities of the television and film industry.

What You Will Learn

This course will cover the following:

• An introduction to copyright and confidential information protections for screenwriters and format creators
• Copyright transfers and licences: assignments, imperfect or DIY agreements and ‘work for hire’ in US practice
• Shopping Agreements, Options, and Turnarounds - key concepts, risk indicators, and the importance of early legal (and accounting) advice
• Joint authorship issues and the risks of multiple contributors when ownership is not addressed at the outset
• Copyright infringement, the limits of fair dealing, the absence of US-style fair use in UK law, and the impact of warranties and indemnities
• NDAs in practice - why they are often refused, the risks of DIY NDAs, and the role of agents in submissions
• Retaining non-TV and non-film publishing rights and maximising merchandising opportunities
• Screen credits and premiere entitlements
• Organisations offering practical support to screenwriters and format creators