Q&A: Can anyone help clear up some copyright confusion?
Question by Suna: Can anyone help clear up some copyright confusion?
So I’m apart of this role playing forum, right? Well, our site having been going for nearly two years, we’re thinking about making a movie. However, we’re not sure how to go about doing so – all but three of us are minors. Since there are about 10+ different roleplayers, how should we go about obtaining a copyright? Is it possible for us to establish some sort of group, even though we’re spread out across the States (one of us lives in Canada and another in Australia, though)?
Thank you for answering, Asnakeny. All of our material is self-made, so the first paragraph would apply to us. Your response told me most everything I need to know; but would we have to apply for a copyright individually or can we do so as a group?
Oops – ignore the question in my edit. I read back over your answer and found what I needed to know. Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by asnakeny
What are you trying to copyright? If you and your buddies created all the rules for the forum you are in (i.e. you did not just take a World of Warcraft preset scenario and populate it with your own characters), then you & your friends can copyright any written rules you created, all character descriptions & appearances, and the like. (You would have to file a separate application on every aspect of the game & movie you would want to copyright.)
If you did just take someone else’s game and add your own characters, then you’ll have to read the game maker’s Terms of Service (TOS) policy (it’s that long document you had to OK to install any software on your computer) to see if you can legally copyright anything you create. (Most likely, the answer to this is no.)
Making a movie based on the characters you create would count as a “derivative work” and hence, you would have to get a copyright (or permission to use someone else’s copyright) on those characters & rules before you can make any money off the movie you make.
If you can file for copyright on your creations, you can do so in the US (where you would specify on the forms you fill out who all the creators are.) Once you have a US copyright, you can then apply for that copyright to be extended to other countries (Canada, Australia, etc.) As you are minors, you will have to get your parents’ signatures on all the forms. How you divide up any money you make would then be up to you all.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
