Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Does the 'Date of Creation' (i.e.) 1989 hold up in court for a copyright infringement case or is it just the actual 'Date of Recordation,' (i.e.1992)? 1992 is the actual date the copyright office registered the defendants' screenplay, 1989 is the 'Date of Creation.' I have a case where I allege that the defendants copyrighted a 1998 'Shooting Draft,' (an update of their original 1992 screenplay), for a movie that did $1.19 billion, (estimate), in total media sales using my copyrighted work for the major and minor advertising (trailers, etc.) and the major award winning content including Golden Globes, Peoples' Choice, Teen Choice, MTV Movie Awards, International Awards, etc. Instead of recording the 'Shooting Draft' with the actual 1992 date on the U.S. Copyright Public Catalog , defendants used the 'Date of Creation' of 1989 vs 1992 for the 'previous registration' for the original screenplay. Since my screenplay was registered in 1991, the defendants 'Shooting Draft' with the wrong 1989 date vs.1992 actual copyright date for the original screenplay, made it look like they beat me to an earlier copyright date by approximately two years. (1991(mine)-1989 (theirs) = 2 years). Therefore if they would have used the actual 1992 copyright date for the previous registration,' for the 'Shooting Draft,' then I would have known that the 1989 date was incorrect and that my copyright beat theirs by a year and five months and pursued this case a long time ago. After all any alleged thief can say they created a screenplay at any date they so choose, as long as it is earlier than the alleged stolen script. (I can also prove access). Is it alleged fraud to record with the U.S. Copyright Office an updated 'Shooting Draft with the wrong copyright date for the original screenplay, (i.e.) the date of creation? After all it fooled me for several years until I saw more of my material being allegedly stolen on primetime television as recently as 2008 and reopened an earlier investigation (in the year 2000), at the time within the 3 year Statute-of-Limitations. Even the copyright office says that the 1989 date is the wrong date. However after recently discovering the wrong 1989 date vs 1992 actual date, the new investigation uncovered several counts of on-going alleged copyright infringements in several of the defendants media projects from the year 1998 to 2008 totaling approximately $1.7 billion!! Back to the main questions: Is it the actual Date of Recordation' with the copyright office or the date of creation for a 'Shooting Draft' that holds up in court? If it is the actual date then I am very interested in finding representation because I allege that this is an on-going case of copyright infringements with an intent to defraud. I discovered the alleged fraud in March 2008 and claim that this according to Calif Law is the time the three-year-statute begins, (i.e. the time of discovery of the fraud and not the occurrences). Although the 'Complaint for Damages' is already painstakingly edited as well as a 73 page 'Case Overview,' I am very opened minded to constructive changes but would like representation by someone (a plaintiff's firm), who has enough experience to handle a large high profile case with no conflict of interest. Thanks for your time.

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Intellectual Property questions and answers in California

Looking for something else?