tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post114895617539331256..comments2024-03-15T11:42:21.265-04:00Comments on The Patry Copyright Blog: SyrianaWilliam Patryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-1149062216995490032006-05-31T03:56:00.000-04:002006-05-31T03:56:00.000-04:00The 100% paid for scripts in turnaround is to make...The 100% paid for scripts in turnaround is to make sure everything, including all changes paid for, is owned free and clear. It only makes sense, though, arguably, it can mean a script is like a poison pill.<BR/><BR/>It is impossible to know precisely how valuable the script is in creating profits of a finished product, but didn't Steven Spielberg say the script in Twister was worth 10% of the profits, or some number on that order?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-1149056259954444802006-05-31T02:17:00.000-04:002006-05-31T02:17:00.000-04:00Doesn't the actual price payable by a production c...Doesn't the actual price payable by a production company for the use of a pre-existing script bear some impact on the calculation of damages? There are many published opinions in public performance ASCAP and BMI cases in which the court looks to the license fees that could have been obtained as its guide. I've never been very happy with that approach even though it follows the statute: "The copyright owner is entitled to recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer..." Actual damages measured by what a lawful use would have received aren’t viscerally satisfying if you happen to be a plaintiff.<BR/><BR/>I can think of no instance in which any production company has ever spent 35% of a budget on a pre-existing script even including the added costs of a re-write by a top writer. There are instances in which scripts are acquired in "turnaround" from another production company that has abandoned the project. It is customary to pay 100% of the prior company’s costs in the project (which would include what was paid to develop the script). Even with all those added costs, I can't think of any example where the cost in turnaround would be 35% of the ultimate budget of the film. When a project is acquired in turnaround it would include an assumption of the obligations under the existing writer contracts (maybe a 10% of net deal - - certainly not 10% of profits as they are understood colloquially).<BR/><BR/>So "damages" doesn't get you very far if you are a writer. That leaves the road of profits and the apportionment you suggest in your post. And that's where the arguments can get circular because the relative value of the script is best measured by what the free market would say the relative value of a script is against every other component of the film. So if the script is 6% of the budget, then the infringed writer should get 6% of the profits, less the damages already awarded on the basis of what the writer would have been paid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com