I started work on my first screenplay. I've never done anything like this before, but I believe that my storyline is very good. It's something that I'll take pride in even if it never gets made into a movie. It's in the science fiction genre, along the lines of "Back to the Future". The only hangup that I have here is the question of copyrighting my work. I know how to copyright my screenplay, but I need to know when I should do it. Can I do it immediately after the first draft? If there are a lot of revisions later on will my storyline to be protected? Can I hire someone to help me write it and still be protected? Thanks in advance for your consideration.
You can copyright every version of your script. If you hire someone to help you write it it can be protected but you will need to credit them also as they will presumably have significant impact on the plot unless you get an agreement from them that they won't be credited but you'll need it in writing.
