Hi, I have a question about licensing and merchandising rights for a screenplay I've written. There was another post that was helpful in which it was concluded that screenwriters basically have no rights and at the most, they are awarded up to 5% of any royalties for merchandising only if the written material exactly describes the product being sold (as determined by the studio, of course). What I'm wondering is -- what if I obtained a trademark for my character and title? Maybe with an artist rendition of the character in action? (think new superhero with lots of marketing and merchandising potential) I've looked into it, and obtaining a trademark requires a lot of paperwork, money, and time, but it would seem worth it to protect and hopefully capitalize on my original material -- or at least be able to negotiate a deal for it. Or would this all just aggravate the studios and give them a reason to slam the door in my face? Thank you for any advice.
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- Thread starter Crocodile
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I don't know for sure; I've never heard of something like that from an unknown. I'd wager big, however, that it'd be the latter.
Why would a studio bother with a screenplay if it came with that kind of issue attached?
Even if you backdoor some trademark of the characters in your screenplay for marketing and licensing reasons, when it comes time to sell your script, those very rights will be up for negotiation. You can't sell the screenplay without the marketing, licensing, books, TV, sequels, rights to basically everything involving the IP being on the table. Now, how much of those will you get to keep? That totally depends on your bargaining position and the skill level of your representative (agent & attorney).
But know that these days, no screenplay is sold (at least to a major studio or production company) without touching all the bases, including marketing and licensing. So the chance of you being able to keep a majority of those rights, especially if you're a first time screenwriter, is very small.
But know that these days, no screenplay is sold (at least to a major studio or production company) without touching all the bases, including marketing and licensing. So the chance of you being able to keep a majority of those rights, especially if you're a first time screenwriter, is very small.