Who owns the movie?
Copyrights for all written material (outline, histories, etc) for a movie are owned by the writer (applied and paid for).
The ''director'' - who initiated the project but failed to file any copyrights - claims the movie (not finished) is his and threatens suit on anyone who uses the footage to complete the film and market it. No one in the project will work with the director again, so his involvement is impossible if the movie is to be finished. (For the same reason, he can never finish it, either.)
Who owns the footage? Would a suit by the ''director'' be successful? How could such a suit be challenged?
Thank you for your time.
Re: Who owns the movie?
Did the director modify or add any of his own material to the script? If so, he may potentially have some joint copyright ownership, depending upon the nature and extent of the modifications.
Also, were there any other elements of the film footage that were not written by the screenwriter (sound recordings, e.g.)?
Lastly, were there any screenwriter, production, or development agreements amongst the parties identifying copyrights?
Re: Who owns the movie?
Did the director modify or add any of his own material to the script? If so, he may potentially have some joint copyright ownership, depending upon the nature and extent of the modifications.
Also, were there any other elements of the film footage that were not written by the screenwriter (sound recordings, e.g.)?
Lastly, were there any screenwriter, production, or development agreements amongst the parties identifying copyrights?
