Script based on an old television series

[juviejay]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin

A friend (she's from England) and I have written a script for a movie based on a television show that ended eight years ago. We have tried contacting the show's creator, as well as the network that broadcast the show, but have been unsuccessful. We were told by a legal representative at the creator's production company that we were free to pursue marketing our script, but that the network owns the rights to the show.

Our script has been copy righted and registered as a derivative work with the Writer's Guild of America. Have we violated any laws?

We are also posting the script on a couple of online sites, and we have started a Facebook page petitioning for a movie of the show. We were planning to link the script to this site. Are these actions legal? If not, what, if any, penalties could we face for these actions? Thank you.

 

[FlyingRon]

If they sold the rights to a TV company then their "permission" means little. You can still be harassed by the owners for your infringement. Securing your own copyright or registering with WGA doesn't do anything to mitigate this.

This is why people with "treatments" of existing books or TV/Movies don't usually get very far. Securing all the necessary rights (both that of the original author and any he has transfered to publishers/production people can be daunting).

 

[xylene]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Wisconsin

A friend (she's from England) and I have written a script for a movie based on a television show that ended eight years ago. We have tried contacting the show's creator, as well as the network that broadcast the show, but have been unsuccessful. We were told by a legal representative at the creator's production company that we were free to pursue marketing our script, but that the network owns the rights to the show.

Our script has been copy righted and registered as a derivative work with the Writer's Guild of America. Have we violated any laws?

We are also posting the script on a couple of online sites, and we have started a Facebook page petitioning for a movie of the show. We were planning to link the script to this site. Are these actions legal? If not, what, if any, penalties could we face for these actions? Thank you.

You have zero chance of reaping any profit from this activity.

The odds of this being nothing more of a legal problem, a benign activity, that will at worst be stopped with a cease and desist order, change dramatically the moment you make some money.

8 years is not a long time ago. This is not some show that is it so old that it is in a legal limbo.