Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York
Book into screenplay
A friend of mine wrote a short story and copyrighted it. I like the story and want to develop it into a screenplay and possibly get it sold to be filmed. It has never been published. One, does adaptation rights come into play? Two, do I have to get the rights before writing the screenplay?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Book into screenplay
You would be best served by getting the rights to use the story from your friend, before you put in the effort of writing a screenplay. Otherwise, you may expend all your time on a product that in the end you will not be allowed to legally use. Please feel free to contact my office if we may be of any assistance.
Re: Book into screenplay
Whether it's been "published" or not, your friend owns the copyright so that fact is irrelevant. What you should have is an option agreement with a literary purchase agreement included and ready to take effect once the option is exercised. You can go to http://www.spmlawyer.com/CklstOpLPA.html where you will find a comprehensie check list of the kinds of provisions that would be incorporated. That would cover adaptation, rights acquisition and your opportunity to write a screenplay based upon the short story.
I've done this kind of work for over 30 years, respect those trying to break into the "business" and offer an initial complimentary phone or meeting. Please feel free to call.
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