SWA's full-time Legal Officer is available for all SWA members to answer queries, and offer legal advice and guidance for contracts and Copyright related issues. SWA's Legal Officer also reviews draft contracts of screenwriters. This service is free of charge. SWA Members can meet our Legal Officer by taking an appointment. They may also send their queries by email at legal.officer@swaindia.org
(Appointment timings: 3.00 -6.00 PM, Monday to Friday).
Ms. Srishti Mallick has completed her B.A. LL.B. from Symbiosis International University, Pune and LL.M. from Department of Legal Studies and Research, UTD, Barkatullah University, Bhopal. Her area of specialization is Intellectual Property Law and Criminal Law. She has experience in litigation including the corporate sector with renowned companies, and has worked with the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. She has multiple certifications from World Intellectual Property Organization, FICCI and Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM), the training academy for Officers of Intellectual Property Office, India.
Request the producer to enter into an agreement with you for assignment of copyright in your script. Do ensure that the agreement is in conformity with the basic terms and conditions as stated in these FAQs.
If the producer is unable to enter into a full-fledged agreement at the moment, request the Producer to at least enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with you for a copyright assignment/license in your script before you work on any modifications suggested by the producer. An MoU is a preliminary document crystallizing the intention of the parties to enter into a Long Form Agreement at a later date. Please note that an MoU is not sufficient by itself and is only an understanding between the parties of the basic terms and conditions of their deal. Do not sign the MoU or any other legal document to that effect without reading and thoroughly understanding it and preferably having it examined by a lawyer.
An agreement forms a legal relationship between the parties where one party promises to deliver the goods/services (which, in your case, is the script/screenplay) and the other party promises to pay a valuable consideration for the goods/services in return. When such a legal promise is entered into, the breach of such promise (by either party) would naturally attract a penalty in the form of damages. The party breaching the promise has to compensate the party who suffered a loss (monetary or otherwise). Avoiding a contract or non-performance of a contract amounts to a breach and would entitle the producer for compensation from you for the losses suffered due to your breach.
The amount for compensation for such losses would vary from case to case and would solely depend upon the contract you have entered into.
While the SWA’s Legal Officer can certainly guide and advise its members on an existing contract, the services of drafting a contract for the writers do not fall in the dominion of the services of Legal Officer. However, we do have a database of competent advocates who can offer these services to you either for free or for a subsidized cost. Drop us an email.